Donald Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are among 18 people who have been indicted in Arizona for allegedly attempting to unlawfully secure the state's 2020 electoral votes for the former U.S. president.
The indictment also identifies Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Seven Trump aides are among those charged alongside 11 pro-Trump Arizona Republicans who purported to be the state's valid electors in 2020.
The indictment relates to the alleged attempts made by Trump and his associates to coerce election officials into overturning the presidential election won by Joe Biden.
Arizona joins Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia in pursuing legal action against the groups that sought to install pro-Trump electors.
The Arizona indictment, which was issued Tuesday and unsealed Wednesday, identifies "a former U.S. president," alluding to Trump, as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The defendants are accused of exerting pressure on the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, the Arizona Legislature, and then-Governor Doug Ducey in an attempt to alter the election results.
Each of the 11 pro-Trump electors is facing nine charges, including counts of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery. While only these 11 alternate electors are named in the indictment, descriptions within the charging documents indicate that the other defendants include Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who served as Trump's attorney; Meadows, Trump's White House chief of staff; Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser; John Eastman, an attorney involved in Trump's election challenges; Christina Bobb, another Trump attorney now with the Republican National Committee; and Mike Roman, who directed Election Day operations for Trump's 2020 campaign.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release that the names of the redacted individuals would be disclosed once all defendants had been served with the indictment.
In Arizona, alleged attempts were made by Trump allies to allocate the electoral votes to the Republican candidate instead. Several of these elections were closely contested. Arizona's outcome was determined by a margin of just over 10,000 votes, representing 0.3% of the total ballots cast.
Trump, Giuliani, and Meadows are co-defendants in a Georgia case as well, where they have entered not-guilty pleas. The trio faces charges of racketeering conspiracy related to efforts to overturn Biden's victory in Georgia.
Trump has also pleaded not guilty in the federal case related to election subversion in Washington, D.C.
The Republican presidential candidate for the upcoming election says that all the cases are politically motivated "witch hunts" aimed at thwarting his efforts to defeat Democrat Biden in the 2024 rematch.
