Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia.
He and 18 others have been indicted on counts that include racketeering in a 41-charge document issued by a Fulton County grand jury.
The indictment marks the fourth time Mr Trump has been criminally charged this year.
He has denied the accusations in all cases.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched an investigation in February 2021 into allegations of election meddling against Mr Trump and his associates.
The list of defendants indicted late on Monday night includes former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former White House lawyer John Eastman and a former justice department official, Jeffrey Clark.
The indictment says the alleged co-conspirators "knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump".
The charge sheet also refers to the defendants as a "criminal organization", accusing them of a number of crimes, including:
False statements and writings
Impersonating a public officer
Forgery
Filing false documents
Influencing witnesses
Computer trespass
Conspiracy to defraud the state
Theft and perjury.
The most serious charge, violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico) Act, is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The act - designed to help take down organised criminal syndicates like the mafia - helps prosecutors connect the dots between underlings who broke laws and those who gave them marching orders.
You can plead 'not guilty' even if you were arrested holding the bloody knife, its just not going to do you much good.
As for the presumption of innocence, as DA Willis put it in her statement this evening, an indictment is just a series of allegations, its up to the prosecutor and team to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Going back to the knife analogy, you're going into the case where you're legally presumed innocent, but the bloody knife/witnesses will show that you stabbed that guy.
Everyone pleads "not guilty" the first go around, even clearly guilty people, even people who plan to plead guilty.
You can always change a "not guilty" plea to "guilty" (ie, plea deal, etc). It gives your lawyers more time to get a handle on the case, get paperwork together, work with the prosecutors, etc.
Ah, thank you, this is the answer I was looking for. Appreciate it.
Very concise and specific.
So they only way to forfeit the person of innocence is by confessing to the alleged crime?
You could confess to the police, and then still plead not guilty. As others have said, you can later change your plea if you and your lawyer decide that's the best course of action.
Thanks, the timeline of the plea was definitely sticking in my brain. That's fascinating