What rights could Donald Trump lose now that he’s a convicted felon?

Donald Trump‘s sentencing in his New York criminal case means he’ll be the first U.S. president to take office with a felony criminal conviction.

Judge Juan Merchan‘s sentencing of Trump to an “unconditional discharge” places a judgment of guilt on his record just days before he officially reclaims the White House on Jan. 20.

Trump will not go to jail or face any other punishment for his criminal conviction, but Merchan noted that Trump’s inauguration would not erase the jury verdict. Unless the conviction is overturned, some of his rights could be affected.

Now that he has been sentenced, Trump has 30 days to file a “notice of appeal,” a process which could take years and play out while he is serving a four-year term as president.

For now, here’s what you need to know:

Can Trump still vote?

The New York native is registered to vote in the state of Florida, and he will be able to vote in future elections. According to Florida law, people convicted of felonies are not allowed to vote, but once they complete their sentence, their right to vote is restored.

Trump was convicted of a felony in New York. According to Florida law, a person cannot vote if they lose the right to vote in the state where they were convicted. Similarly to Florida, New York restores the right to vote once a person is released from prison. Since Trump is not spending time in prison, he would not lose the right to vote.

Can Trump hold office?

The U.S. Constitution does not include any language that would prevent presidential candidates with a criminal record, with the only requirements to run for president being that the candidate has to be at least 35 years old, a natural-born U.S. citizen and to have lived in the country for at least 14 years.

Can Trump pardon himself?

No, since the felony conviction was given in a state court and involved state law, the only person who can pardon Trump is New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hocul.

Hochul has previously said a pardon for Trump might not be in the cards.

“There is a pardoning process in the state of New York. It is lengthy,” Hochul said at a news conference reported on by The Hill. “It requires a couple of elements. One is remorse.”

“Now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax,” Trump wrote in a social media post after the hearing on Friday.

“As the American People have seen, this ‘case’ had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no Law, only a highly conflicted Judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal Election Interference,” Trump added.

Can Trump own a gun?

No. According to the United States Probation Office, “anyone who has been convicted of a felony is banned by federal law from ever possessing ‘any firearm or ammunition.’”

Back in 2023, Trump grabbed headlines after apparently saying he would like to purchase a gun during a visit to a South Carolina gun store.

“I want to buy one,” Trump said at one point. “Isn’t a Glock a great gun?”

Trump posed for pictures with the gun – his entourage included Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene − but he did not actually buy it. Following the visit, his campaign clarified the incident, saying Trump had not purchased a weapon.

USA TODAY’s Aysha Bagchi, David Jackson, Eduardo Cuevas, Josh Meyer, Sarah D. Wire and Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can Donald Trump vote after felony conviction? Can he pardon himself?

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