Internet says Trump allies 'paying the price' as Arizona indicts Rudy Giuliani and 17 others in 2020 election interference probe

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: An Arizona grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump's 18 allies, including attorney Rudy Giuliani and chief of staff Mark Meadows, for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, the New York Post reports. 

The indictment hit eleven Arizona Republicans with felony charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery for falsely declaring to Congress that Trump won in the Grand Canyon State in 2020. The charges released on Wednesday, April 24, include the names of former state GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward and state Senators Jacob Hoffman and Anthony Kern, besides Giuliani and Meadows.

According to descriptions of the defendants, the other unnamed people who were indicted are Trump's 2020 campaign advisers and lawyers, Michael Roman, John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Jenna Ellis, and Boris Epshteyn.

Donald Trump named an 'unindicted co-conspirator'

The GOP presumptive nominee did not face any charges but was referred to as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the fake elector probe.

"In Arizona and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020," the 58-page indictment read. "Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted co-conspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Co-conspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona's voters."

President Joe Biden won in Arizona with more than 10,000 votes. The 11 state Republicans filed eight unsuccessful lawsuits challenging his victory against Trump.

The indictment stemmed from Arizona's Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes' year-long investigation on the "fake electors." The investigators received previous unseen records from attorney Kenneth Chesebro in December 2023 that widened the probe of the election in interference beyond the local Republicans, according to The Washington Post.

Arizona is the fourth state to indict the former president's allies over trying to reverse Biden's 2020 victory.

In December 2023, a Nevada grand jury charged six Republicans with felony for submitting false election certificates. On April 24, an investigator testified that Trump and his allies, including Giuliani and Meadows, were "unindicted co-conspirators" in the 2020 Michigan fake electors probe, as per CNN. Another case is the ongoing one in Georgia led by Fulton County DA Fani Willis.

"A state grand jury made up of everyday regular Arizonans has now handed down felony indictments for all 11 Republican electors as well as several others connected to this scheme," Mayes said about the indictment in Arizona.

"These are serious indictments, but this is the first hurdle the state must pass in our constitutional criminal justice system. We intend to prove these crimes were committed beyond a reasonable doubt," she added.

Internet says anyone involved with Trump will 'pay the price' 

The internet welcomed Arizona's indictment against Trump allies, while another side deemed it a desperate move from the ex-president's opponents.

One user said, "So many people are going down. Anyone Donald Trump gets involved with, they pay the price." While another remarked, "They couldn’t remove him from the ballot…so now every state is going to create bs charges….their desperate."

"It's all beginning to go horribly wrong for Trump. About time!" a third user added. Whereas a fourth response read, "This is disgusting!! They will do anything to stop the truth from going forward!! If it was a fair election, why were videos shown of boxes/ suitcases of ballots brought in and counted after hours in many places?"

Someone else wrote, "The wheels of justice maybe slow but they are certain and effective. And they’ve arrived." On the other hand, another argued, "Desperation. They know damn well this is a plot to keep the poll watchers and staffers quiet in 2024. NOT happening."

"Womp womp womp…Bad times for all those who thought tearing the Constitution into pieces for their own benefit was a good idea," an individual added. Meanwhile, a user said, "This is ridiculous."

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.