Prosecutors turned to a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president of a sweeping criminal conspiracy.
Donald Trump and 18 allies have been indicted in Georgia with scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
Prosecutors turned to a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other top aides in a sweeping criminal conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power.
The 97-page indictment details dozens of acts by Mr Trump and his allies to undo his defeat in the battleground state, including hectoring Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find enough votes to keep him in power, pestering officials with bogus claims of voter fraud and attempting to persuade Georgia politicians to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favourable to Mr Trump.
“Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and wilfully joined conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favour of Trump,” said the indictment issued by the office of Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis.
Other defendants include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and a Trump administration Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, who advanced his efforts to undo his election loss in Georgia.
Multiple other lawyers who devised legally dubious ideas aimed at overturning the results, including John Eastman, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, were also charged.
Ms Willis said the defendants would be allowed to voluntarily surrender by noon on August 25. She also said she plans to ask for a trial date within six months.
The document describes the former president of the United States, the former White House chief of staff, Mr Trump’s attorneys and the former mayor of New York as members of a “criminal organisation” who were part of an “enterprise” that operated in Georgia and other states – language that conjures up the operations of mob bosses and gang leaders.
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