Donald Isn't The Only Trump With A Criminal History. Here's Why His Dad Fred Was Arrested

These days, Fred Trump is known first and foremost as the father of Former President Donald Trump. But long before he amassed a fortune or even had children of his own, the son of German immigrants was a lawbreaker. In June 1927, The New York Times published a report (rediscovered by Boing Boing) of one Fred Trump, who was arrested during a Ku Klux Klan tussle with police. 

The article reported that he was one of seven arrested men and lived at 175-24 Devonshire Road, Jamaica, New York. According to the Daily Star (via The Washington Post), Fred was arrested for refusing to leave the parade after he was told to. But unlike the six others who had to appear in court, he was discharged. Fred was in his early twenties at the time and a decade away from having his first child, Maryanne Trump Barry. More than four decades later, in 1973, Fred got into trouble again with one of the Trump family's biggest lawsuits. 

This time, it was a discrimination case that accused Fred, Donald, and Trump Management of refusing to rent to Black people. The suit dragged on for two years but was eventually settled after Trump Management agreed to put out advertisements encouraging Black renters to apply for housing. Three years later, in 1976, Fred was arrested for repeatedly refusing to follow safety protocols at his complex on George Palmer Highway.

A 1976 article from The Washington Post revealed that the chief of inspection and enforcement had spoken with Fred Trump multiple times to try to get him to fix the violations on his complex. Unfortunately, the real estate mogul did nothing about the broken windows, rotted rain gutters, and lack of fire extinguishers. After Fred was released on bail, Irving Eskinazi, the vice president of Trump Management, gave an interview about why his boss wasn't to be blamed. Eskinazi called Fred a "fine gentleman" and blamed the building's poor state on "low-income people" who had recently begun to move into the area.

The years passed, and Fred's actions were mostly forgotten — until the shocking transformation of Donald Trump from a Hollywood star into a presidential candidate. When the already controversial politician was confronted about his father's involvement with the Ku Klux Klan, he leaned heavily into denial. During a conversation with the Daily Mail, Donald argued, "This never happened. Never took place. He was never arrested, never convicted, never even charged. [...] You don't even know it's the same person! Nobody says it was!" 

However, thanks to a 1930 census uncovered by The Washington Post, we know that the "Fred Trump" who resided at the aforementioned address, lived with his mother, who was named Elizabeth Trump. The census entry also confirmed that "Fred Trump" was 25 years old, and his mother was 50. Coincidence? Extremely unlikely.

Notably, Donald Trump's presidential campaign included support from within the Ku Klux Klan community itself. At the time, many believed that Donald had no ties to the group, considering that he'd criticized the Reform Party for working with David Duke, the former leader of the KKK, in 2000. The former reality star also publicly refused to be associated with the party, stating that he didn't want to be around people with such beliefs. 

However, as Donald's campaign gained momentum in February 2016, Duke voiced his support for the real estate mogul, even telling his radio listeners that voting against Donald would be equivalent to "treason." When the then-candidate was informed of this endorsement and asked to disavow the Ku Klux Klan, Donald's response was not as definitive as his 2000 comments. "David Duke endorsed me? Okay, all right. I disavow, okay?" he said (via The Hill). 

The following day, the presidential candidate was asked a similar question by another reporter, and his reply was similarly evasive: "Well, just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke. Okay? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists," per NBC News. He also repeatedly claimed not to know whether Duke's endorsement had even happened.