Former President Donald Trump speaks Sunday during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport.

News of the indictment of Donald Trump in New York City on charges related to a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to an adult film star drew strong opinions Thursday across East Texas from both sides of the political aisle.

Local Republican officials suggested the process had become overly politicized, while Democratic officials celebrated what they viewed as a long-sought step toward justice.

“My problem with all of this is the process has been so muddied, and so unclear and so back-and-forth,” said Smith County Republican Chair David Stein. “It doesn’t give me confidence as a citizen to say, ‘Oh, yes, this is absolutely the right process and the way things should have transpired.’”

Brian Bowden, the GOP chair in Gregg County, agreed, saying, “I believe it is the Justice Department going after a Republican candidate for president that they are seriously worried about running again.”

Local Democrats, on the other hand, looked at the indictment as some measure of justice long overdue.

“I’m very surprised,” said Hector Garza, chairman of the Smith County Democratic Party. “I didn’t think in a million years that Donald Trump would be indicted. But America is a society of laws, and anytime our laws are violated or broken, one must answer.”

Phillip Burns, his counterpart in Gregg County, said he believes justice is being served.

“I think he should have been indicted. He’s not exempt just because he was the president. He’s not above us,” he said. “If he did something wrong that calls for it, he needs to be convicted. And I trust his followers — as they say about others being prosecuted — will demand justice.”

What justice looks like for East Texas party officials, however, largely depends on political ideology.

“It’s just really sad that things don’t go both ways in our justice system anymore,” Bowden said. “Our judicial system is being weaponized by politicians and the administration for their own political benefit.”

Stein agreed, saying, “This is not a Russian collusion situation. This is not so many of the things the Democratically-controlled government has gone after him for. It’s almost like they finally found something to get him on.”

What’s next? Smith County’s top Democrat is ready for the entire episode to end.

“I”m sorry to see this happen. I really am,” Garza said. “Trump needs to stand up and be held accountable to the American people. For society, let’s get this behind us in an expeditious way and move on.”

But could this ultimately be a good thing for the former president? Bowden believes so.

“I think this is only going to bolster Trump’s ratings, and people will get behind the Republican Party even more,” he said. “They see if this can happen to a former president, it can happen to them.”

The unprecedented indictment, reported Thursday by multiple media outlets, marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been criminally prosecuted. It comes as Trump is facing separate, ongoing investigations into his alleged involvement in 2020 election interference by his supporters and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, along with his handling of classified documents after leaving office, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Trump is a declared candidate for president in 2024, and his Republican allies have sought to portray the work of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as politically motivated, with the former president calling on his supporters in a social media post Saturday to protest and “take our nation back.”

Trump, who declined an invitation to testify before the grand jury, has denied the affair with Daniels and alleged that she demanded cash because of his vulnerability as a presidential candidate. Earlier this month, the grand jury heard from Cohen, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to several charges including federal campaign finance crimes involving the hush money payout. Federal prosecutors concluded the payment, which came shortly after Trump faced criticism, was an improper donation to Trump’s campaign.

Trump made repeated pleas for supporters to protest on his Truth Social platform, predicting “potential death & destruction” that “could be catastrophic for our Country” if he is charged with a crime.