Trump: "There is a certain anti-white sentiment in the country" that "must not be allowed."

According to a report from the legal news site Law & Crime,criminal charges against Mark MeadowsIt was announced on Friday, after it became known that he, along with 17 other individuals, became the subject of an extensive criminal investigation. Meadows' attorney, George Terwilliger, described the charges as "obviously political and biased," adding that they would be "contested and disproven." The former president was not charged; however, investigators confirmed that he is an unofficial co-conspirator. The indictment states that "in Arizona and across the country, citizens chose Joseph Biden as president on November 3, 2020," and that "the defendants and unofficial co-conspirators conspired to obstruct the lawful transfer of presidential power" in order to re-elect Trump "against the will of Arizona voters."

The indictment further notes that "this plan would deprive Arizona voters of their right to vote and the ability to count their votes." According to the Washington Post, all defendants are facing charges on all counts mentioned in the indictment. They are accused of:

• the commission of a criminal conspiracy
• on fraudulent schemes and deceptions (this is the most serious accusation)
• fraudulent methods and practices
• forgery of documents

In addition to Meadows, criminal charges have also been brought against other high-profile Republicans. Law & Crime reported that:

• The chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, Kelly Ward, and her husband Michael have become the subject of accusations.
• Arizona Republican activists Tyler Bauer, Nancy Cottl, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James Lamont, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Murhead, Lorraine Pellegrino, and Gregory Safsten are also being charged.

Some other participants in the investigation, such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s now-disbarred attorney John Eastman — the author of the "Eastman Memo," which focused on the strategy for awarding electoral votes to Trump on January 6, 2021 — have not yet been formally charged.

It is expected that investigators in Arizona will officially file criminal charges againstTrump's campaign lawyer Boris Epsteinand also againstformer Trump lawyer Christina Bobbwho, after her work with Trump, joined the "Election Integrity Protection Group" of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and is helping the RNC contest the results of the 2024 elections in key swing states like Arizona. Before starting her collaboration with Trump and the RNC, Bobb was a host on the far-right channel One America News Network.

Arizona is just the latest state where criminal charges have been brought against Trump’s associates and partners in connection with the plan to falsify electors. Investigators in Georgia and Michigan are also continuing to bring charges against Giuliani, Meadows, Eastman, Ellis, and others for their alleged roles in this conspiracy. The plans involved Republican activists submitting invalid documents certifying their status as legitimate electors from their states, after which they intended to use their roles as electors to cast electoral votes for Trump, despite President Biden winning the 2020 election in those states.