SAG-AFTRA Finds "Probable Cause" To Boot Trump, Pending Trial

Donald Trump won't be President Trump after President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, but he might face an even stiffer loss: getting kicked out of the Screen Actors Guild. On Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA announced that its board has found "probable cause" to expel Trump in a special session due to violations of the organization's constitution.

The matter has now been referred to the union's Disciplinary Committee, which could reprimand, censure, fine, or kick out Trump entirely, depending on its finding. Not surprisingly, the charges stem from the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, when Trump incited his supporters to march on the building in an apparent attempt to overthrow the results of the election. The organization also says other factors contributed to the decision, particularly his "sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members."

This effort to expel Trump from one of America's most powerful unions is the latest in a wide-ranging backlash following the events of January 6, when the US Capitol was breached for the first time since the war of 1812. Trump was banned from numerous digital platforms for his support of the riot, including Twitter and Twitch. Recently, even Macaulay Culkin suggested that Trump should be digitally removed from Home Alone 2, where the controversial real estate developer appears in a brief cameo.

Trump has been a member of SAG-AFTRA for 30 years. According to the organization's webpage, the union represents approximately 160,000 performers and media professionals in the United States. SAG-AFTRA is also a member of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the US.