Former US President Donald Trump was indicted for a fourth time late Monday, this time for his and his allies’ alleged actions to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state of Georgia.
The grand jury indictment in Georgia stretched far into the night on Monday, with the indictment only becoming public just before 11 p.m.
The 98-page indictment list charges a total of 19 individuals including Trump, and fellow associates Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, among other figures. Over 40 charges are listed in the filing, which also notes there are 30 co-conspirators who have yet to be officially indicted.
Trump was specifically hit with 13 charges, including: Violation of the Georgia RICO Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer and conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, among others.
Among the charges listed in the filing against Trump, violations of the Georgia RICO (racketeering) Act is considered the most serious.
RICO cases are typically used to clamp down on drug cartels or larger criminal organizations. It’s specifically used in cases where an alleged offender engaged in a minimum of two predicated crimes that were in connection to an enterprise that is either considered legal or illegal.
Shortly after the indictment was released, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis told reporters that the defendants must surrender voluntarily no later than 12 p.m. local time on August 25.
“[Trump and his allies] constituted a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities,” Willis said at a news conference just before midnight Monday.
“They knowingly and willfully joined conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.”
Source: Agencies
