An Arizona grand jury on Wednesday found so-called “fake electors” who supported then-President Donald Trump in 2020 following an extensive investigation into allegations of trying to overturn Joe Biden's presidential election victory. Mr. Trump's key aides were indicted. state.
A month after the 2020 election, 11 Trump supporters gathered at Arizona Republican Party headquarters in Phoenix to sign a certification claiming Arizona's 11 electors to the Electoral College, but Biden He won the state by 10,457 votes, and state officials certified his electors. The state Republican Party recorded the signatures on the certificate in a social media post and sent it to Congress and the National Archives.
Among those indicted is Kelly Ward, who served as chair of the Arizona Republican Party during and immediately after the 2020 election.she tweeted After the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Ward said, “Congress has been adjourned. Please send the electors' choices back to Congress.” He consistently promoted his claims.
Also indicted are state Reps. Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman. Michael Ward, Kerry Ward's husband. Tyler Bowyer, Arizona Republican National Committee member and chief operating officer of Trump-aligned Turning Point USA; Greg Safsten, former Arizona Republican Party executive director; former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Ramon; Robert Montgomery, former chairman of the Cochise County Republican Party. and Republican activists Samuel Moorehead, Nancy Cottle, and Lorraine Pellegrino.
Based on the indictment's description, Trump appears to be identified as “unindicted co-conspirator 1.” The document includes redacted names of other people who have been charged in the case but have not yet been served. According to the indictment, two of the suspects appear to be former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump campaign and White House staffer Mike Roman.
Another text appears to describe attorney Kenneth Chesebro, one of the architects of the alleged scheme, as an unindicted co-conspirator. Mr. Chesebro pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy charges brought against him, Mr. Trump and 17 others in the state in Georgia. He is also believed to be one of the unidentified co-conspirators described by Special Counsel Jack Smith in last year's federal election interference indictment of President Trump.
Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays (D) led the investigation. She was appointed state attorney in November 2022 to replace Mark Brnovich, a former Trump ally and Republican who later earned Trump's scorn for failing to substantiate claims of election fraud in the state. He was elected chief.
“Over the past 13 months, we conducted a thorough and professional investigation into the fraudulent elector scheme in our state,” Mays said in a video announcing the charges. “I realize that some of you may not have been able to arrive early enough today, and I am aware that others will criticize me for conducting this investigation. As I've said before, and I'll say it again today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined.
The charges in Arizona are the latest example of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, with a bid to regain the presidency in 2024, turning into litigation.
Arizona was one of seven states in which “alternative electors” signed false documents saying Trump had won each state. Prosecutors have already charged “alternate electors” in Nevada, Georgia and Michigan.
Chesebro and others, including President Trump's general counsel John Eastman, made the case for Trump in the months after the 2020 election, when then-Vice President Mike Pence presided over the counting of electoral votes. They argued that the existence of alternate electors could be used to name the winner. in Congress on January 6th.
In his memo, Mr. Eastman wrote: “Finally, due to ongoing disputes in seven states, we have announced that there are no electors in those states that will be considered validly appointed. After that, Mr. Pence decided to re-elect President Trump.
Trump lost Arizona by just under 11,000 votes. As Republican electors send illegal certificates to Washington, President Trump pressures Maricopa County officials and other Arizona Republicans, including then-state House Speaker Rusty Bowers and then-Arizona Gov. I tried to put it on. Doug Ducey.
As governors certified the state's election results, President Trump called Ducey directly. Ducey muted the call.
Mays' tenure as Arizona attorney general has also been marked by other election lawsuits stemming from President Trump's false claims of fraud since the 2020 election.
Mays last fall accused two local officials in Cochise County of delaying the certification of the 2022 midterm election results. After months of airing baseless accusations about the integrity of the election, officials voted against certifying the county's election results by the legal deadline. The county certified the election results only after receiving a court order.