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Former President Donald Trump announced he will surrender to authorities in Georgia on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing him of illegally scheming to overturn the 2020 election results.
“Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED,” Trump wrote on his social media network, hours after his bond was set at $200,000. It will be Trump’s fourth arrest since April when he became the first former president in U.S. history to face indictment.
The defendants were charged with 40 additional counts from other allegations including: Trump and co-defendants plotted to create pro-Trump slates of fake electors; Trump called the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, asking him to “find 11,780 votes”, thus reversing his loss in the state by a single vote margin; and a small group of Trump allies in Coffee County, Georgia illegally accessed voting systems attempting to find evidence of election fraud.
The indictment comes in the context of Trump’s broader effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. It is one of four ongoing criminal prosecutions of Trump, one of which is a federal prosecution also related to the 2020 election.
A grand jury handed down the indictments on August 14, 2023, following an investigation launched in February 2021 by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The case was initially set to be heard in the Fulton County Superior Court with judge Scott F. McAfee presiding; however, Mark Meadows filed a motion to have his case removed to federal court, and Trump may follow suit. Meadows subsequently filed to have his case dismissed.
The 19 defendants named in the indictment and some of the allegations against them are:
Donald Trump, then US president, had 13 felonies. Alleged organizer and leader of a criminal enterprise that attempted to fraudulently overturn the results of presidential elections in Georgia and six other states.
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer, has 13 felonies. Accused of “overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy”, including falsely telling a Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee that 10,315 dead persons and 2,560 convicted felons cast votes.
John Eastman, Trump’s lawyer, has nine felonies. Accusations include: making false statements in a court filing; and helping assemble “unlawful” pro-Trump electors.
Mark Meadows, then White House chief of staff, has two felonies. Accusations include soliciting a public officer to violate their oath during the Raffensperger call, telling him, “I can promise you there are more than that”, in reference to the state having found only two votes cast by felons.
