A grand jury indicted 11 Arizona Republicans and 7 others for his or her position in an alleged scheme to maintain Donald Trump within the White Home by falsely certifying the state’s 2020 election outcomes as a Trump win.
The indictment accuses the group of making an attempt to forestall “the lawful switch of the presidency of america, retaining President Donald J. Trump in workplace in opposition to the need of Arizona voters, and depriving Arizona voters of their proper to vote and have their votes counted.”
In line with the indictment, one month after the election, 11 Trump-supporting Republicans convened on the state’s GOP headquarters in Phoenix to signal certificates claiming the state’s electoral school votes.
“We carried out a radical {and professional} investigation over the previous 13 months into the faux electors scheme in our state,” Arizona Legal professional Common Kris Mayes mentioned in a video on Wednesday asserting the fees. “I perceive for a few of you at present didn’t come quick sufficient. And I do know I’ll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation in any respect. However as I’ve acknowledged earlier than, and we’ll say right here once more, at present, I cannot enable American democracy to be undermined.”
Along with the 11 individuals named within the indictment, seven different people are charged, although their names are briefly redacted pending notification of the case. Nonetheless, given different details about them within the doc, their seemingly identities are obvious.
Former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani seems to be among the many defendants from the redacted group. He’s described within the indictment as an individual “usually recognized as ‘the Mayor’” who “unfold false claims of election fraud in Arizona and nationally shortly after November 3, 2020.”
The Unbiased has contacted Mr Giuliani for remark.
Mark Meadows additionally seems to be named within the indictment, which describes a person who served as a chief of workers in 2020. Mr Meadows, a former congressman, was Donald Trump’s chief of workers in 2020.
At legal professional for Mr Meadows advised The Washington Submit his shopper hadn’t seen the indictment but, however mentioned if the previous Trump chief of workers is known as, “it’s a blatantly political and politicized accusation and will probably be contested and defeated.”
Donald Trump is refered to within the indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator.
This can be a breaking information story and will probably be up to date with new data.
Alex Woodward contributed reporting to this story.