An Arizona grand jury has indicted former president Donald Trump 's chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 16 others for their efforts to use so-called "fake electors" to try to overturn Mr Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won Arizona in 2020. Mr Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes.
They include the former state party chair, a 2022 US Senate candidate and two sitting state lawmakers, and have been charged with nine counts each of conspiracy, fraud and forgery.
The identities of seven other defendants, including Giuliani and Meadows, were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges.
Mr Trump, who is described in the indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator, has argued that he can't be prosecuted for acts he committed while serving as president. On Thursday local time, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments on his bid to avoid federal prosecution over his efforts to reverse his loss.
Arizona is the fourth state where allies of Mr Trump have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election.
"I will not allow American democracy to be undermined," Democratic State Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a video released by her office.
"It's too important."
The identities of the unnamed defendants were determined by the Associated Press based on their descriptions in the document
One is an attorney "who was often identified as the Mayor" and spread false allegations of election fraud, which clearly describes Giuliani. Another is Trump's " chief of staff in 2020," which describes Meadows.
Two sitting senators, former state party chair indicted
The 11 people officially named in the case had been nominated to be Arizona's Republican electors.
They met in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were "duly elected and qualified" electors and claiming that Trump carried the state.
A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.
Of the eight lawsuits that unsuccessfully challenged Mr Biden's victory in the state, one was filed by the 11 Republicans who would later sign the certificate declaring Mr Trump as the winner.
Their lawsuit asked a judge to de-certify the results that gave Mr Biden his victory in Arizona and block the state from sending them to the Electoral College.
In dismissing the case, US District Judge Diane Humetewa said the Republicans lacked legal standing, waited too long to bring their case and "failed to provide the court with factual support for their extraordinary claims."
Days after that lawsuit was dismissed, the 11 Republicans signed the certificate.
The Republicans facing charges include former chair of Arizona republicans Kelli Ward, her husband Michael Ward, state Senator Jake Hoffman, youth organisation executive Tyler Bowyer and state Senator Anthony Kern, who was photographed in restricted areas outside the US Capitol during the January 6 attack and is now a candidate for Congress.
Others charged include Greg Safsten, James Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Nancy Cottle and Loraine Pellegrino, all current or former party actives.
None responded when The Associated Press sought comment.
Fake electors indicted in several states
The Arizona charges come after a string of indictments against fake electors in other states.
In December, a Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans on felony charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument in connection with false election certificates. They have pleaded not guilty.
Michigan's Attorney General in July filed felony charges that included forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery against 16 Republican fake electors. One had charges dropped after reaching a cooperation deal, and the 15 remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Three fake electors have been charged in Georgia alongside Mr Trump and others in a sweeping indictment accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally overturn the results. They have pleaded not guilty.
In Wisconsin, 10 Republicans who posed as electors settled a civil lawsuit, admitting their actions were part of an effort to overturn Mr Biden's victory. There is no known criminal investigation in Wisconsin.
Mr Trump also was indicted in August in federal court over the fake electors scheme.
The indictment states that when Mr Trump was unable to persuade state officials to illegally swing the election, he and his Republican allies began recruiting a slate of fake electors in battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — to sign certificates falsely stating he, not Mr Biden, had won their states.
In early January, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said that state's five Republican electors cannot be prosecuted under the current law.
In New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors added a caveat saying the election certificate was submitted in case they were later recognised as duly elected, qualified electors. No charges have been filed in Pennsylvania.
In Arizona, Mayes' predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, conducted an investigation of the 2020 election, but the fake elector allegations were not part of that examination, according to Mayes' office.
AP