Donald Trump is due to appear in court on Thursday over charges that he sought to overturn the 2020 US presidential election.
Trump was dramatically charged with four federal counts late on Tuesday over his efforts to overturn the democratic result in the run-up to the deadly January 6 2021 insurrection attempt on the US Capitol.
The former president is facing a judge just blocks from the Capitol where his supporters stormed to block the peaceful transfer of power.
He is expected to be processed by law enforcement, be officially taken into custody and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge.
He is then expected to be released to rejoin the campaign trail as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024, in which he is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
Prosecutors allege a sprawling two-month conspiracy to subvert the democratic will of the American people in choosing Joe Biden for president.
The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, but Trump’s defence is expected to focus heavily on the free speech protections granted under the US Constitution.
Prosecutors at the Justice Department say Trump plotted with six co-conspirators in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by Mr Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.
The charge sheet says that Trump and his allies attacked a “bedrock function of the US government", in repeatedly lying about the results in the two months since he lost the election and pressured his vice president Mike Pence and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.
This is the third criminal case brought against Mr Trump in the last six months.
He was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with an alleged hush money payment to a porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The Justice Department has also charged him with 40 felony counts in Florida, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago.
He has pleaded not guilty in both those cases, which are set for trial next year.
State prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia are expected in coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state by asking officials to find him votes.
Trump has claimed without evidence that special counsel Jack Smith, who is bringing the latest charges, is trying to interfere with the 2024 election.
Thursday’s court appearance will be before US magistrate judge Moxila Upadyaha.
