PHOENIX – Allies of the former President Donald Trump In Arizona, he pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges related to his involvement in a plot to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results.
Among the 11 people arraigned Tuesday were former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and “fraudulent voters” who signed papers claiming to be Arizona Electoral College voters despite being the current president. Joe Biden narrowly carried the state and confirmed the Arizona victory.
Others arraigned Tuesday were former Arizona GOP Chair Kelly Ward and her husband, Michael Ward; state legislator Anthony Kern; Robert Montgomery, former head of the Cochise County GOP; Republican Party activists Samuel Moorhead, Nancy Cottle and Loraine Pellegrino; former Arizona GOP Executive Director Greg Safsten; Christina Bobb, Trump’s ex-lawyer; and Tyler Bowyer, the Republican National Committee’s Arizona committee and chief operating officer of Trump-aligned Tipping Point Action.
Giuliani, Bowyer, Cottle, Montgomery, Pellegrino and Bobb appeared virtually.
They were among 18 people indicted last month by a state grand jury in connection with the scheme.
The accused “voter frauds” and their alleged accomplices face fraud, forgery and conspiracy charges announced last month by state Attorney General Chris Mayes, a Democrat.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse after the wards pleaded not guilty, their attorney, Brad Miller, said, “There is no criminal record by the Attorney General’s office,” and claimed that “[the case is] First Amendment issue.”
A few of those charged in this Arizona case They were tried on similar charges in Georgiawhere prosecutors also allege that Trump allies are trying to overturn the election there.
In recent weeks, every defendant except Giuliani has been served with indictment notices in the case. He even teased Mayes a social media post that has since been deletedboasts of evading indictments.
He was finally served ThursdayDuring an 80th birthday party in Palm Beach, Florida.
“We found him mainly through his live broadcasts. It’s not that hard to find,” Mayes told CNN on Monday.
“Our agents professionally serviced him after the birthday party as the party was winding down,” he said.
In addition to those arraigned Tuesday, another Trump ally is former Trump lawyer John Eastman. He he pleaded not guilty in this case last week.