Former US President, Donald Trump, will appear in federal court in Washington on Thursday, following his latest grand jury indictment for seeking to change the 2020 election result.
The case has been assigned to Tanya Chutkan, a U.S. District Judge chosen by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.
Trump was indicted for the third time in four months on Tuesday, even as he campaigns as the front-runner to reclaim the presidency next year.
The 45-page indictment charges Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States by delaying Congress from acknowledging Democrat Joe Biden's victory and depriving voters of their right to a fair election.
Prosecutors said then-President Trump pushed fraud claims he knew were false, pressured state and federal officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, to change the results, and finally incited a violent assault on the United States Capitol in a desperate attempt to undermine American democracy and cling to power.
The charges derive from Special Counsel Jack Smith's extensive examination into allegations that Trump attempted to avenge his defeat to Biden.
Despite a dizzying array of legal issues, Trump has reinforced his position as the Republican presidential front-runner, according to public opinion polls.
Weeks of allegations that the election was rigged culminated in a heated Trump speech on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress convened to certify the results.
Soon after, his supporters stormed the United States Capitol, attempting to prevent Congress from formalizing Biden's triumph.
Smith laid the blame for the violence completely on Trump's shoulders in a brief remark to reporters.
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies – lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing the bedrock function of the U.S. government,†He. said.