The indictment charges Trump with conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against the rights of citizens. The charges follow special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump’s actions following his election loss, culminating in his supporters’ attempted storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
“The Defendant lost the 2020 presidential election”, the indictment states on its first page. “Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on 3 November, 2020, the defendant spread lies … that he had actually won.”
The latest allegations mark the third time in four months that criminal charges have been brought against the former president. The new indictment names six co-conspirators, of whom one is believed to be former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump’s attorney following his election defeat.
Immediately following its announcement, Trump’s re-election campaign team denounced the indictment. “The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes,” the campaign said in a post on Truth Social.
