Trump resigns from actors union after facing discipline for US Capitol riot

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday resigned his membership in a top US actors and screen union that was reviewing disciplinary action against him after his supporters stormed the US Capitol in a Jan. 6 attack that left five people dead.

In a letter to the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Trump slammed the union's planned hearing after the board last month found probable cause that he had violated its terms over the attack.

"Who cares!" Trump wrote in the letter, provided by a spokesman and first reported by Fox News. "I no longer wish to be associated with your union."

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"Thank you," the guild responded in its own statement.

The US House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump on Jan. 13, charging him with inciting an insurrection in the rampage at the Capitol. Trump, a Republican, left office on Jan. 20 after losing re-election last year. He faces trial in the Senate next week on the impeachment charge.

SAG-AFTRA, which represents some 160,000 actors, journalists and other media professionals, on Jan. 19 said it would review Trump's role in the riot, saying he had "attacked the values that this union holds most sacred – democracy, truth, respect for our fellow Americans of all races and faiths, and the sanctity of the free press."

Also Read | People died at the Capitol. Can rioters be held accountable?

The union had not said when the meeting would be held. Fox reported that Trump's disciplinary hearing was set for this week.

"While I’m not familiar with your work, I’m very proud of my work," Trump wrote SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. "You have done nothing for me."