Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday pleaded not guilty to federal charges against him for plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, U.S. media reported.

Trump was arraigned in a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Thursday afternoon, two days after he was formally indicted.

Trump appeared before a magistrate judge to face the charges. When asked for his plea to the four counts with which he was charged, Trump replied, "not guilty."

The former president reportedly did not have a mug shot taken.

It was the third time Trump has pleaded not guilty since April, with months of pretrial legal wrangling expected against the backdrop of the 2024 presidential campaign, in which Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden.

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Trump with four criminal counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

"Despite having lost, the defendant (Trump) was determined to remain in power. So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won," reads the 45-page indictment.

Shortly after election day, Trump also pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results. In so doing, Trump perpetrated three criminal conspiracies: a conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function; a conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding to certify the results of the presidential election; a conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one's vote counted, says the indictment.

Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Apart from the charges for attempts to overturn the 2020 election, he is also under indictment in two other cases.

He was charged in June with mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. In March, he was indicted on New York state charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush-money payments to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump is also under investigation in Georgia over his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

Trump's lawyer, John Lauro, registered an early objection, arguing that the magnitude of the case and the amount of materials involved could require a lot of time.

Prosecutor Thomas Windom countered that the case should proceed as normal, including with a speedy trial.

Trump was released without travel restrictions. One of his conditions of release is that he not discuss the case with any witnesses unless accompanied by his lawyers.

Trump has portrayed the indictment, as well as the other criminal cases against him, as a "witch hunt" intended to derail his White House campaign.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)

(Cover: Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before he boards his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia, U.S., August 3, 2023. /CFP)