(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump and several of his allies have been indicted by a Georgia grand jury for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. This is the fourth criminal case to be brought against the former president and the second to allege that he tried to subvert the results of the vote.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced that arrest warrants have been issued for all 19 named defendants in the indictment, and they would have until noon on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023 to surrender themselves. Prosecutors are seeking a trial date within the next six months, though it will ultimately be up to the judge to set the schedule.
The grand jury in Fulton County met Monday in a session lasting well past the court’s usual close of business before handing down the indictment, signed by Judge Robert McBurney. Documents were presented around 9 p.m. ET by the county clerk of courts to the Fulton County judge, who for months has been presiding over the investigation.
Monday morning, Trump responded to the indictment on Truth Social: “Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!”
The charges come more than two years after Willis began investigating the former president after he was heard on a recorded phone call pressuring Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Trump and 18 of his allies were named in the indictment, including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark and Sidney Powell.
Charges include violations of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, making false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit forgery and criminal attempt to commit filing false documents.
In the indictment, prosecutors say Trump and his co-conspirators constituted a criminal organization, whose members engaged in criminal activity. Prosecutors say the defendants made false statements to state legislatures and high-ranking officials, created and distributed false Electoral College documents, harassed election officials, solicited Justice Department officials and Vice President Mike Pence, breached voting machines and engaged in a coverup.
The Trump campaign released a statement ahead of the unsealing, accusing Willis and other Democrats of attempting to interfere with the election.
“Ripping a page from Crooked Joe Biden’s playbook, Willis has strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign,” the statement read.
“I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law,” Willis said in a press conference regarding the indictment, calling the investigation non-partisan.
The campaign called the indictments a “grave threat” to democracy and an assault on Trump’s First Amendment right to free speech.
Guiliani said it was “just the next chapter in a book of lies with the purpose of framing President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime,” in a statement posted on X.
He was first indicted in April by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for falsifying business records and faces 34 counts in that case.
In June, Trump was indicted on 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents after he left office.
Trump — who is the current front-runner to win the GOP nomination in 2024 — is also facing federal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Last week, a federal grand jury indicted the former president for allegedly conspiring to defraud the country.
Read the full indictment:
This is a developing story that will continue to be updated. NewsNation is working to confirm these reports.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
