Arizona indicts 18 in 2020 fake elector scheme to re-elect Trump

A grand jury has indicted 18 people on charges that they took part in an Arizona fake elector scheme to re-elect then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020, the state's attorney general said on Wednesday.

Arizona's Attorney General Kris Mayes said a grand jury had returned indictments on 11 local Republicans, including the party's former state chair, and seven others from out of state, whose names were redacted until all have been served with papers. 

According to the Washington Post, the seven include former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, as well as Rudy Giuliani, who acted as Trump's personal lawyer. 

The court papers list a "former U.S. president," Trump, as an unindicted co-conspirator.

The eleven Republicans, who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Donald Trump beat Joe Biden in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy, fraud and forgery.

Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona, a critical election battleground, by just over 10,000 votes, but many Republican Party officials insisted – without evidence –  that there had been fraud and that Trump had been the real winner. 

Electors –  representatives of the winning candidate in each state –  sign official documents that are sent to Congress after presidential elections. 

Despite Trump's loss in Arizona, his representatives nonetheless signed documents saying he had won. 

(Cover: A protester carries a "Trump 2020" flag as Arizona electors gather to cast their votes for the U.S. presidential election at the Arizona Capitol, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., December 14, 2020. /Reuters)

(With input from agencies)