Former US president Donald Trump is facing his third indictment, this time for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election result.
Trump is facing four charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct and official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
He has been ordered to appear in a Federal Court in Washington D.C on Thursday local time.
The alleged attempt to overturn the election result sparked the violent Capitol riots.
“The attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Special Counsel Jack Smith said.
“As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US. Government, the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
Smith says he wants a ‘speedy trial’
“In the meantime, I must emphasise that the indictment is only an allegation, and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
Trump has previously been indicted following the classified documents investigation and has also been charged with business fraud.
He has pleaded not guilty in both those cases.
Despite Trump’s criminal woes, he remains the frontrunner to claim the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 election.
More to come.
