Rudy Giuliani among 18 Donald Trump allies indicted in Arizona over alleged 2020 fake elector scheme

A grand jury in Arizona has indicted a number of Donald Trump’s former advisers over an alleged scheme to flip his defeat in the state and overturn the 2020 US presidential election result.

The former president’s lawyer and once mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani is among 18 people indicted on counts including conspiracy and fraud.

Mr Trump‘s former chief of staff Mark Meadows is also accused. Trump himself was not charged but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Two serving state lawmakers - Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman - are among those charged.

Arizona is the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election which was won by Joe Biden.

They are accused of a “fake elector” scheme to interfere in the Electoral College system that decides presidential elections.

So-called fake electors were allegedly put forward in half a dozen swing states by Republicans in place of the victorious Democrats, allegedly in order to prevent Mr Biden from claiming the White House.

The names of seven defendants, including Mr Giuliani and Mr Meadows, were redacted in the indictment made public today, but they were referred to in a manner that exposed their identity.

The Arizona prosecutor’s office said the redacted names would be made public after all the defendants were formally presented with the charges.

“I will not allow American democracy to be undermined,” Democratic state Attorney General Kris Mayes said. “It’s too important.”

George Terwilliger, a lawyer representing Meadows, called the charge “a blatantly political and politicized accusation and will be contested and defeated.”

Giuliani’s political adviser, Ted Goodman, decried what he called “the continued weaponization of our justice system.”