Court Sets May Arraignments in Arizona 2020 Election Indictment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of Arizona Republicans and allies of former President Donald Trump are expected to be arraigned this month on felony charges for their involvement in a fake elector scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the Grand Canyon state.
Court records show that a hearing is set for May 17 for one defendant, and another is scheduled for May 21 for 16 other defendants. There were no attorneys listed for the defendants as of May 7.
In late April, an Arizona grand jury indicted a total of 18 people — including former Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward, state Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern and former Trump lawyers John Eastman and Jenna Ellis — on charges of conspiracy and forgery in connection with a scheme to cast fake electoral votes in order to keep Trump in power.
The indictment alleges that Trump and his allies engaged in a conspiracy with the goal of preventing the transfer of power and keeping the former president in office “against the will of Arizona voters.”
Notably, former Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was not named in the indictment but was identified as a defendant by his spokesperson, is not named in the court docket. Another former Trump attorney, Christina Bobb, is also named in the indictment, and currently serves as senior counsel on the Republican National Committee’s election integrity team.
While Trump isn’t charged in Arizona, the 2024 presidential candidate is facing four indictments elsewhere, two of which stem from his efforts to subvert the election results through a campaign of frivolous lawsuits and falsehoods about widespread voter fraud, all of which culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.