Trump Indicted in Georgia Election Interference Case

The Indictment

On August 14, 2023, a Fulton County grand jury returned a sweeping 41-count indictment against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, charging them under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged that Trump and his allies engaged in a coordinated criminal enterprise that included filing false court challenges, pressuring state officials, creating a slate of fake electors, and attempting to breach election equipment. It was Trump’s fourth criminal indictment in five months.

The Phone Call

At the heart of the case was a recorded January 2, 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump asked Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” — one more than the margin of Biden’s victory in the state. The hour-long call, which was recorded and leaked to The Washington Post, captured Trump making threats, spreading debunked conspiracy theories, and pressuring a state official to alter the certified election results. Legal analysts had flagged the call as potential criminal conduct from the moment it became public.

RICO and Co-Defendants

Willis’s decision to use Georgia’s expansive racketeering statute allowed her to charge the entire alleged conspiracy as a single criminal enterprise. The 19 defendants included Trump, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and a range of lawyers, political operatives, and local officials who allegedly played roles in the scheme. The RICO framework meant prosecutors could present the full scope of the alleged conspiracy to a jury, connecting individual acts into a broader pattern of criminal conduct.

Mugshots and Legal Complications

Trump surrendered at the Fulton County Jail on August 24, 2023, where he was booked, fingerprinted, and had his mugshot taken. The mugshot, showing Trump glaring at the camera, became one of the most iconic images in American political history. Trump’s campaign quickly monetized it, selling merchandise featuring the image. The case faced significant complications, including a controversy over DA Willis’s personal relationship with a special prosecutor she had hired, which led to extended hearings and motions to disqualify her. Several co-defendants took plea deals and agreed to cooperate, but the case’s pace slowed considerably and no trial date had been set by the time Trump won the 2024 presidential election.