An Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 people involved in Donald Trump’s fake electoral rolls scheme. Eleven of them acted as fake electors, including seven Trump allies who helped organize the scheme.
Arizona’s Democratic Attorney General Chris Mays announced the charges Wednesday, saying the 11 fake electors were charged with felony counts of fraud, forgery and conspiracy.
In addition to the fake electors themselves, Trump’s other notable names include Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb, and Mike Roman. Several people involved have been charged with being complicit in this plan.
Those indicted for their role as fake electors include two sitting members of Congress, State Sen. Jake Hoffman and State Sen. Anthony Kern. Former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Kelly Ward and her husband Michael Ward were also indicted, as well as Republican National Committeeman and Turning Point USA executive Tyler Bowyer, and 2022 Senate candidate Jim Ramon. The Fake Electoral Plan is Nancy Cottle, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorehead, Lorraine Pellegrino, and Gregory Safsten.
The indictment states, “The people of Arizona and the United States elected Joseph Biden as president on November 3, 2020. Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants and their co-conspirators are guilty of conspiring to negate the charges. “He plotted to prevent the legal transfer of the presidency in order to retain his position.” -Conspirator 1 took office against the will of Arizona voters. This plan would have stripped Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted. ”
Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes, but the narrow margin in the typically red state immediately sparked allegations of voter fraud that continue to this day. Despite the losses suffered by Republicans who bought into the lies of election fraud at the state level, the state remains a hotbed of election denialism.
Trump has not been charged in the Arizona case.
Throughout, the indictment refers to Trump himself as “Unindicted Co-conspirator 1,” and describes how the former president plotted to keep him in office, as well as those around him. He also points out how he supported the effort, including those who believed he had lost.
Some officials said they had signed on as alternate candidates for the electorate in case a ruling was made in Trump’s favor and to have a backup group that Congress could certify if Trump won. Some argue.
However, according to the indictment, the defendants pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to reject Joe Biden’s accurate slate of electors during the Electoral College vote counting process on January 6, 2021. It is said that these false votes were intended to be false. Pence did not declare Trump the winner. , use these fake electoral votes or otherwise delay the official count.
The Arizona charges are the latest development in the fake elector saga. Seven states had similar plans, but her two states, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, hedged their language well in their documents to prevent prosecution.
Democratic Attorney General michigan and nevada They prosecuted fake Republican electors in each state. In Georgia, three of the 16 fake electors were indicted as part of a broader racketeering campaign against President Trump and his allies. The others were granted immunity for cooperating with the district attorney’s investigation.
In Wisconsin, fake electors certified Biden’s victory as a way to resolve a civil lawsuit over the issue.
Mr. Mays’ investigation lagged behind other states. Mays was narrowly elected president in 2022, and his predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, did not pursue an investigation. She confirmed that the investigation took place in early 2023.
The investigation, among many other disagreements, has put Mayes at odds with Arizona’s Republican-led Legislature, which fears Mayes is exceeding his authority as attorney general. A committee has been formed to investigate Mr. Mays and his office.
Wednesday’s videoMays said the investigation was “thorough and professional” and would bring justice to the conspiracy to overturn the state’s electoral votes.
“I understand that some of you may not have been able to do today’s research quickly enough, and I also know that I will be criticized by others for doing this research at all. ” she said. “I will not allow American democracy to be undermined. It is too important.”
Hugo Lowell and Sam Levine contributed reporting
