Former President Ulysses S. Grant was the first President to be arrested

March 26, 2023

With the looming possibility of former President Donald Trump being arrested, it may surprise many Americans to learn that Trump won't be the first.

That ignominious honor belongs to former President Ulysses S. Grant who was arrested for speeding in 1872.

William H. West, a Black Civil War veteran, recounted the story in 1908 to the Washington Evening Star. According to West, Grant loved his horses and would "let them out" in spite of speed limits on horse-drawn carriages.

West first stopped Grant for speeding and let him off with a warning before running into Grant the next day committing the same offense.

West recounted his conversation with Grant saying, “I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation, and I am nothing but a policeman. But duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest."

The circumstances around Trump's possible arrest are vastly different from Grant's but nonetheless, he won't be the first if radical leftist D.A. Alvin Bragg has his way and locks Trump up.