A dozen allies of former US President Donald Trump, including Rudy Giuliani, are expected in an Arizona court on Tuesday to hear charges against them tied to the 2020 election.
They are accused of carrying out a “fake elector scheme” in which they allegedly conspired to falsely declare that Mr Trump had won Arizona.
This is the fourth state to try Republican officials for election interference.
It has not charged Mr Trump.
But he is believed to be one of the unindicted co-conspirators listed in the sweeping indictment released last month.
Altogether, Arizona has charged 18 Republicans for allegedly claiming Mr Trump won Arizona, when in truth the Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden, carried the state by more than 10,000 votes.
Mr Giuliani is expected to appear in a Phoenix, Arizona courtroom for the arraignment hearing on Tuesday morning. He only received official notice of his indictment on Friday, when he was served papers after his 80th birthday party.
Four other high-profile officials, including Mr Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, are expected in court in June.
Arizona follows Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, in charging Republican officials who are accused of attempting to thwart Mr Biden’s victory.
The state says 11 Republicans submitted a document to congress claiming, falsely, that they were Arizona’s true electors and saying they would cast the state’s electoral votes for Donald Trump.
Among the others charged are Kelli Ward, former chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, and her husband Michael Ward, as well as Arizona state lawmakers Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman.
Attorney John Eastman was arraigned last week in the Arizona case and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
By BBC News
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