Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a statement that the insurrection on January 6 was an “unprecedented assault” on democracy. The prosecutor spoke following the indictment of former President Donald Trump in relation to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Mr Smith said the indictment “sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full”. “The attack on our nation's capitol on January 6 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” he added. “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.” “The men and women of law enforcement who defended the US Capitol on January 6 are heroes. They are patriots and they're the very best of us,” the special counsel said. “They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it, they put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people.” Mr Smith added: “They defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States.” A grand jury in Washington, DC voted to indict Mr Trump on four counts on Tuesday, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. The indictment states that Mr Trump took part in a “conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful federal government function by which the results of the presidential election are collected, counted, and certified by the federal government”. It states that he conspired to “corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6 congressional proceeding at which the collected results of the presidential election are counted and certified” and orchestrated a “conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted”. On Tuesday evening, Mr Smith said, “Since the attack on our capital, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day”. “This case is brought consistent with that commitment and our investigation of other individuals continues,” he added. “In this case, my office will seek a speedy trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens. In the meantime, I must emphasize 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.” Prosecutors claim that Mr Trump had six co-conspirators, five of which were attorneys. Mr Trump and the “co-conspirators used knowingly false claims of election fraud to get state legislators and election officials to subvert the legitimate election results and change electoral votes for the Defendant’s opponent, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to electoral votes for the Defendant,” the indictment states. They also argue that Mr Trump “pushed officials in certain states to ignore the popular vote; disenfranchise millions of voters; dismiss legitimate electors; and ultimately, cause the ascertainment of and voting by illegitimate electors”. Mr Smith ended his statement by thanking “the members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who are working on this investigation with my office, as well as the many career prosecutors and law enforcement agents from around the country who have worked on previous January 6 investigations. “These women and men are public servants of the very highest order and it is a privilege to work alongside them.” Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump faces four criminal charges in indictment over 2020 election interference Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for Jack Smith’s office to be defunded amid Trump indictment DeSantis calls new Trump indictment ‘unfair’ - while pushing his own campaign

Hundreds of riders in various states of dress -- or undress – are riding through some of Philadelphia’s main streets for the 14th Philly Naked Bike Ride

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO Treasury yields and the dollar hovered above multi-week lows on Wednesday as markets grappled

Australia got their Davis Cup finals campaign up and running at the second attempt as the Netherlands beat the tournament's record all-time winners...

By Marcela Ayres and Bernardo Caram BRASILIA Even as Brazil's economic growth blew past expectations in the first

It's a familiar routine for Ukrainians: Explosions ring out in the city, then videos emerge of drones overhead. Air defenses spring into action, and the authorities put out preliminary statements confirming a strike.

By Lucy Raitano LONDON Investors are turning their attention back to European small and mid-cap stocks as low

Scott Saunders was charged and has been placed on administrative leave

A business dispute that has pulled ESPN and other Disney-owned companies off the air for nearly 15 million cable TV subscribers continues, with both companies taking the unusual step of directing customers to look elsewhere for their favorite networks

Banc of California is in advanced talks to buy PacWest Bancorp, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday,

Briefly in the early 2010s, the Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of New Delhi was a fitting home for Formula One racing. A vast, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility, it was a symbol of India's ambition, welcoming a truly global event -- and the eyes of the world with it.

The Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through higher education with a landmark decision that struck down affirmative action and left colleges across the nation searching for new ways to promote student diversity