List of All Articles with Tag 'americas'

After two men were found dead in the same creek after attending a Brooklyn concert venue, speculation has swirled as to whether the two are connected. Police said 27-year-old John Castic was last seen after leaving The Brooklyn Mirage club around 3am on 29 July. On 1 August, just days after he vanished, the Goldman Sachs staffer was pulled from Newtown Creek, a waterway near the venue. Shockingly, Castic wasn’t the only young man who this had happened to in recent weeks. Psychologist Karl Clemente, also 27, vanished from the same music venue on 11 June. His body was found on 16 June in Newtown Creek. The Independent has reached out to the venue for comment. Are the two deaths connected? The NYPD told The Independent the deaths have not been linked, adding that the investigations are active and ongoing. After reports of Castic’s death, Clemente’s father, Alex Clemente, speculated to Fox News: “There’s something weird here. There might be some connection.” Some social media users pointed out that Brooklyn Mirage has little to no service inside, making it difficult to call for help or find friends if lost. Who is John Castic? Castic’s friend posted on Reddit, saying he went missing around 2.30am on 29 July after attending a midnight show at The Brooklyn Mirage. He added that Castic was “last seen wearing a navy and white button down shirt.” Around 11am on 1 August, a man called 911 after seeing a “bloated, shirtless body floating face-down” in a branch of the East River tributary, according to The New York Post. NYPD sources told the outlet that the body, aside from drowning, had no obvious signs of trauma. Police later identified the body as John Castic, who was originally from Illinois. His friend, Sara Kostecka, described Castic to the Post as “very charismatic, high-energy with a good sense of humor,” adding, “Whatever happened, he did not deserve this.” “He was so smart but, in the end, he did something dumb, and it cost him,” Jeffrey Castic, his father, told Fox News. “We think he might have been impaired, we do not know, and it was just a lapse of judgment.” He told the outlet his death was caused by “misadventure,” explaining that his wallet and phone were found when his body was recovered. Who is Karl Clemente? Karl Clemente turned up at the venue on 11 June, but was turned away because staffers said he had been drinking, his father told Fox News. The exchange reportedly occurred around 10pm. Video surveillance obtained by the outlet showed Clemente walking toward a nearby gas station, while other footage allegedly showed Clemente running down Metropolitan Avenue moments later. “Why was he running?” his father told the publication. “Someone was chasing him. There’s something fishy here.” Clemente’s wallet and phone were not recovered with his body. A GoFundMe shows more than $28,000 was raised for his funeral services, accompanied by an outpouring of support and condolences. The Brooklyn Mirage The music venue is located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in a manufacturing zone. “This is really heartbreaking,” said Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, whose district includes the music venue and the creek. “This is why we need to do more in our manufacturing zones,” she added, warning of the area’s lack of lighting and scarce cell phone service. A former employee at The Brooklyn Mirage said there are a lot of dead zones for cell service inside the building. She said the area is intended for “manufacturing purposes,” so it’s not ideal for nightlife. However, the councilmember said, “If people are here, we need to figure out how to make it safer for folks.” On top of this, Ms Gutiérrez continued, the closest subway station is not that close—it’s an 11 minute walk away, according to Google Maps—and noted the nearby Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, which is “too easy” for someone to fall or be pushed into. The bridge spans Newtown Creek, where both bodies were found. She said that a venue representative told her that the bridge’s video camera was not working over the weekend. The venue also reportedly told the councilmember that it used to have extra security beyond just inside the arena itself. When it opened, according to Ms Gutiérrez, the security used to stand on the route to the nearest train stop to prevent concertgoers from wandering around in the manufacturing district, but due to expenses, the venue stopped providing that service. She said she doesn’t want there to be a “trend” for people to come to her district “not feeling safe.” The councilmember noted that both men were alone at the end of the night; she advised people who attend the area’s music venues to come with friends—“especially friends with different phone carriers.” In a statement on Wednesday, Avant Gardner — the outdoor complex that includes The Brooklyn Mirage — wrote, “Avant Gardner is in communication with the authorities and is assisting with the investigation. We take the safety of our patrons extremely seriously. Our thoughts are with the family and friends during this difficult time.” Read More Body of Goldman Sachs banker pulled from NYC creek after he vanished from concert Police identify suspects in fatal drugging of men at New York City gay bars How the Gilgo Beach serial killer turned the Long Island shore into a graveyard

Watch live from outside the US Capitol after police said no active shooter was found on Wednesday 2 August. Officers were dispatched to canvass Senate office buildings in response to what they described as “a concerning 911 call”. In a post on X (the social media website formerly known as Twitter), the US Capitol Police department advised that people should stay away from the area as officers were investigating. “Our officers are searching in and around the Senate Office Buildings in response to a concerning 911 call. Please stay away from the area,” the post read. DC Fire and EMS subsequently told Fox News that the situation was likely to be related to mental health and not an active shooter. Read More FBI looks for more possible victims after woman escapes from cinderblock cage in Oregon Moment stepfather arrested by police for murder of 10-month-old stepson Italian police dog sniffs out €1 million in cash hidden in luggage

The US Capitol Police has dispatched officers to canvass Senate office buildings in response to what the department described as “a concerning 911 call”. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) the department advised that people should remain away from the area as officers are still investigating. A subsequent post advised that anyone in one of the Senate office buildings “should be sheltering in place” because the 911 call reported “a possible active shooter,” though the department further advised that they did not have any confirmed reports of gunfire in the Senate buildings. More follows... Read More Donald Trump due in court charged with ‘conspiracy to defraud United States’ Who are Trump’s six alleged co-conspirators in the 2020 election probe case? What is an arraignment? Here’s what to expect after Trump’s indictment

A man has been arrested in Oregon after a woman escaped a cinderblock cell in his garage, the FBI has said. The agency has said that Negasi Zuberi, 29, from Klamath Falls, Oregon went to Seattle and picked up a prostitute on 15 July, pretending to be an undercover officer. The woman told the authorities that Mr Zuberi aimed a Taser at her and put her in handcuffs and leg irons before placing her in the back of his vehicle, according to KPTV. The victim said that Mr Zuberi sexually assaulted her several times during the 450-mile drive from Seattle to Klamath Falls. After arriving at his home, the suspect placed the victim in the makeshift cinderblock cell in the garage. The Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Portland Field Office, Stephanie Shark, told KPTV that the legal complaint states that the “woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell. Police say, she beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free. Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare”. The woman broke down the door of the cell when Mr Zuberi was away from the house and managed to escape and flagged down a driver who then called 911. More follows...

Within two hours after he was criminally charged for his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a political action committee connected to Donald Trump’s campaign sent out two fundraising emails to supporters. One message – sent from the “Official Trump Store” – advertises a “limited-edition” commemorative “I Stand with Trump” T-shirt that includes the date of the latest indictment against him. “But still, our movement is MORE UNITED than ever. … Because, Patriot, during these dark times, YOU are President Trump’s courage, his hope, and the source of his unwavering resolve to SAVE our country,” according to an email on 1 August from the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. “And what better way to show that YOU stood by the President’s side through *EVERY* phony indictment than your very own Limited-Edition ‘I STAND WITH TRUMP’ T-Shirt.” Supporters who pledge $47 to his campaign will receive the shirt “for FREE,” according to the message. The campaign mailed out four other fundraising messages earlier that day, including one issued roughly 10 minutes before his Truth Social post announced that a “fake indictment” against him was imminent. The former president’s campaign operations have raked in millions of dollars following criminal charges and investigations against him, as he denies wrongdoing and relies on a narrative of political persecution while accusing prosecutors and his rivals of threatening his own supporters. “Our Republic is hanging by a thread, and America needs you right now,” one recent message reads. “Please make a contribution to show that you will NEVER SURRENDER our country to tyranny as the Deep State thugs try to JAIL me for life – for 1,500% impact.” But the account for Mr Trump’s Save America PAC, which started last year with $105m, has diminished to less than $4m after paying out millions of dollars in legal fees. The group has asked for a refund of a $60m donation to a connected super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc, according to federal records. That group already has sent back more than $12m to help with Mr Trump’s growing legal bills, records show. The House select committee investigating the events surrounding the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021 reported that Mr Trump’s fundraising arms collected more than $100m in the first week after Election Day in 2020 alone. His campaign and allies raised $250m from baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, the committee found. Last year, the panel’s senior investigative counsel Amanda Wick said Mr Trump’s campaign “pushed false election claims to fundraise, telling supporters it would be used to fight voter fraud that did not exist.” Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’ Trump, January 6 and a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election: The federal investigation, explained Trump’s election fraud claims were always bogus. Will his history of lies finally catch up to him? Analysis: Trump's indictment is a stress test of Biden's focus on safeguarding democracy Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate Pence fought an order to testify but now is a central figure in his former boss's indictment

A jury has ruled that Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowers will face the death penalty. Bowers, whose defense hoped to avoid a death penalty, learned of his fate around noon on Wednesday when jurors read their decision. The mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on 27 October, 2018, left 11 people dead and became the most deadly antisemitic attack in US history. The jurors spent two days deliberating before reaching their conclusions. All 12 jurors had to agree in order to impose a death penalty. Bowers' legal team initially offered a plea deal to the prosecution, promising a guilty plea from the mass shooter if they agreed not to seek the death penalty. The prosecution refused the deal. Defense attorney Judy Clarke offered a plea to the jury to spare Bowers’ life. “We can’t rewind the clock and make it such that this senseless crime never happened,” she argued. “All we can really do is make the right decision going forward. And we are asking you to make the right decision, and that is life.” She asked the jurors to consider the traumas of Bowers’ childhood and his mental illness when issuing their sentence, noting that “he succumbed to his mental illness, to his delusional beliefs, and brought us where we are today.” Forensic psychiatrist Dr Park Dietz — who testified as an expert witness for the prosecution in the trials of John Hinkley Jr, who attempted to assassinate Ronald Regan, and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer — also testified for the prosecution regarding Bowers. He said Bowers suffered no delusions that would have called into question his intent to kil the worshippers at the synagogue. Intent is one of three critera that must be met before a jury can pass down a death sentence. A defendant must also be over the age of 18 and have at least one aggravating factor — in Bowers’ case hate crimes — to qualify for a death sentence. A jury found him guilty of all 63 charges against him during a trial in June.

Federal prosecutors have asked the judge overseeing the prosecution of Donald Trump, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira in the Southern District of Florida to hold a hearing that could result in Mr Nauta seeking new legal representation in the case against him. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office on Wednesday filed a motion asking Judge Aileen Cannon to schedule what is known as a “Garcia Hearing,” at which Mr Nauta would be informed that he has the right to be represented by a lawyer who does not represent any other party in the case against him. The proceeding takes its’ name from a 1975 court case, United States v. Garcia, in which an appeals court found that a defendant could use an attorney with a conflict of interest if they were properly informed as to the risks in doing so. Prosecutors said they were asking for the hearing because Mr Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, has represented or is currently representing three other people who may be called to testify against the longtime Trump aide and his co-defendants when the case against them goes to trial in May 2024. They explained that the hearing is needed because “ an attorney who cross-examines a former or present client inherently encounters divided loyalties,” and suggested that Judge Cannon could “procure” an independent attorney to be present at the hearing to advise Mr Nauta should he wish to speak with them. The special counsel’s office said Mr Woodward, who is paid by Mr Trump’s Save America Political Action Committee, represents seven persons who have been questioned during the government’s probe into the ex-president’s alleged mishandling of classified information. Specifically, they said the individuals include the Mar-a-Lago IT director referenced in the indictment of Mr Trump, Mr Nauta and Mr De Oliveira as “Trump Employee 4” as well as two other Trump aides who worked for the ex-president “during his presidency and afterwards”. Prosecutors also noted that they had previously told Mr Woodward in February and March of this year that his representation of the IT supervisor constituted a conflict because the employee would give evidence that was damaging to Mr Trump and Mr Nauta. The IT worker subsequently obtained a different attorney in early July, just a few weeks before the government obtained a superseding indictment of the ex-president and Mr Nauta and added Mr De Oliveira as a defendant in the case using the worker’s testimony. Continuing, they said Mr Woodward’s representation of the potential witnesses raises a conflict of interest because it “may result in the attorney’s improper use or disclosure of the client’s confidences during the cross-examination” or result in the attorney “pulling his punches” during cross-examination of the witnesses to protect the client or his own personal interests. “Where, as here, a potential conflict arises from an attorney’s simultaneous or successive representation of a defendant and a potential witness, a Garcia hearing is warranted. Nauta should be thoroughly advised of the potential conflicts and attendant risks,” they said. Prosecutors added that the two witnesses other than the Mar-a-Lago IT worker should also attend the hearing so they can be advised of the risks of having Mr Woodward as an attorney. A response to the government motion by Mr Nauta’s legal team is due on 16 August. Read More Trump has now been indicted for a 3rd time. Here's where all the investigations stand Mar-a-Lago property manager is the latest in line of Trump staffers ensnared in legal turmoil Mar-a-Lago worker charged in Trump's classified documents case to make first court appearance

One of the few Republican senators who voted to convict former president Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial for his role in the January 6 riot, said that the latest indictment showed the former president played an “active role” in instigating the chaos. A federal grand jury in Washington DC elected to indict the former president on four counts of violating three sections of the federal criminal code for his attempted scheme to stay in the White House despite losing the 2020 presidential election. Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined six other GOP senators in 2021 to convict Mr Trump for his role in inciting the riot at the US Capitol as Mr Trump’s supporters breached the complex in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. “In early 2021, I voted to impeach former President Trump based on clear evidence that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election after losing it,” Ms Murkowski said in a series of posts on X , formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday evening. “Additional evidence presented since then, including by the January 6 Commission, has only reinforced that the former President played a key role in instigating the riots, resulting in physical violence and desecration of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” she added. Ms Murkowski won re-election in Alaska last year largely thanks to the state moving to a ranked-choice system. Mr Trump campaigned heavily for her Republican challenger Kelly Tshibaka last year. She is one of only four remaining Republican senators who voted to convict Mr Trump, along with Sens Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). So far, she is the only Republican senator who has won re-election since voting to convict Mr Trump. Only two of the 10 Republicans who voted in the House of Representatives to impeach Mr Trump remain in the chamber. The Alaska Republican said that Mr Trump is considered innocent until proven guilty and will have his day in court like any American. “As that process begins, I encourage everyone to read the indictment, to understand the very serious allegations being made in this case,” she said. The grand jury charged Mr Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding and deprivation of rights under the colour of law after a four-hour presentation by Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office. Ms Murkowski’s words differ drastically from those of her Republican colleagues, including Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who called to defund Mr Smith’s office, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Andrew Feinberg contributed reporting Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’ DeSantis ripped for calling new Trump indictment ‘unfair’ - even though he hasn’t read it ‘Co-conspirator 1’ Rudy Giuliani flips out saying Jack Smith should be indicted for indicting Trump Analysis: Trump's indictment is a stress test of Biden's focus on safeguarding democracy Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate Pence fought an order to testify but now is a central figure in his former boss's indictment

Children under the age of 16 no longer have to obtain permission to work in Arkansas. To mark the day that the child labour law rollback went into effect, social media users circulated a photo of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders wearing a massive smile - with frowning children sitting beside her. The photo was taken on 8 March 2023 when Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an education bill into law. But New York Times reporter Hannah Dreier resurfaced the photo on X – formerly known as Twitter – on Tuesday to highlight another bill that went into effect that day—the “Youth Hiring Act of 2023”—to try to illustrate how kids may be feeling about the new law. The post drew a wide range of reactions from social media users, from criticism to sarcastic comments. Orlando Sentinel reporter J.C. Carnahan wrote sarcastically, “The kids look enthused about it. What could go wrong?” “The kids in this photo look super stoked,” another said similarly, and yet another wrote, “kids look thrilled.” Another user remarked, “Talk about turn back the clock--good ol’ Huck-a-Buck just returned her state to the early 1900s. Way to go!!” One user went so far as to say, “They’d rather put little kids to work (because kids will be glad to get any amount of money) than raise the minimum wage.” Ms Sanders’ communications director spoke to NPR after the governor signed the bill into law in March: “The Governor believes protecting kids is most important, but this permit was an arbitrary burden on parents to get permission from the government for their child to get a job. She added, “All child labor laws that actually protect children still apply and we expect businesses to comply just as they are required to do now.” In 2022, the Department of Labor reported that there were 3,876 minors illegally employed; the highest figure in the past 10 years. A March report by the Economic Policy Institute said that 14 states have either introduced or passed bills that roll back child labour laws. Read More Sarah Huckabee Sanders travels to Europe for 1st overseas trade mission as Arkansas governor Arkansas librarians are suing to block state law that threatens them with jailtime Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she never meant job applicants to write what they admire most about her

Rudy Giuliani has flipped out over Donald Trump’s latest indictment on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, after he was identified as an unnamed co-conspirator in the charging documents. In a bizarre rant on right-wing network Newsmax on Tuesday night, the man said to be “co-conspirator 1” in the indictment furiously claimed that special counsel Jack Smith should be indicted for indicting Mr Trump. “The people lying are the people bringing this… They should be indicted for conspiracy against rights,” he fumed. The attorney – who is facing calls from an attorney disciplinary committee to be disbarred – went on to accuse Mr Smith of being an “unethical lawyer”. “So here’s what I say to Jack Smith,” he fumed. “After the Supreme Court threw out your case, which should have been a disgrace... you should have gone and found another profession because you don’t belong in this one.” “This one will be your legacy, violating the rights of free speech of an American citizen. Nevermind whether he was president or not.” He continued: “It could be anybody. It could be a homeless person. You don’t get to violate people’s first amendment rights, Smith. No matter who the hell you are, no matter how sick you are with Trump derangement syndrome.” In a somewhat unhinged moment, the former New York City mayor then brandished a copy of Mr Trump’s indictment to the camera before slamming it back down on the table. “This isn’t the first time you’ve acted like an unethical lawyer,” he said. “It should be the last.” On Tuesday, a grand jury which has spent months hearing evidence in special counsel Mr Smith’s investigation returned a federal indictment against the former president. Mr Trump was charged with four counts of: 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 – Mr Trump’s second federal indictment and third overall – allegedly conspired with his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election in an attempt to sabotage the vote of the American people. While the former president is the only person charged, the indictment refers to six co-conspirators who worked with him to try to overturn the election. The six individuals – four attorneys, one Justice Department official and one political consultant – have not been named in the charging documents because they have not yet been charged with any crimes. But based on the details in the indictment and records already known about the events leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, the identities of five of the six co-conspirators are clear. The individual known as co-conspirator number one appears to be former New York City mayor and Mr Trump’s former attorney Mr Giuliani. The indictment refers to co-conspirator 1 as an “attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not”. Multiple quotes attributed to co-conspirator 1 match those previously attributed to the former New York City mayor. On 6 January 2021, co-conspirator 1 left a voicemail for a US senator, according to the indictment. “We need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you,” he said. “I know they’re reconvening at 8 tonight, but it … the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow – ideally until the end of tomorrow.” The quotes match a previously-obtained transcript of a call made by Mr Guiliani to Senator Tommy Tuberville that day. Mr Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costelllo acknowledged to The New York Times that it “appears that Mayor Giuliani is alleged to be co-conspirator No. 1”. He went on to denounce the indictment as “election interference” and a violation of the first amendment. Mr Giuliani is widely-known to have been a key player in Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and last week admitted in a lawsuit settlement that he had made false statements about two Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of rigging votes. Read More Trump indictment – live: Trump hit with 2020 election probe charges as he likens it to ‘Nazi persecution’ Who are Trump’s six alleged co-conspirators in the 2020 election probe case? Jack Smith held nothing back. Here’s what the Trump indictment really means Prepare to flick off your incandescent bulbs for good under new US rules that kicked in this week Watch live outside of DC district court after Trump indicted for third time Republicans rage against Jack Smith after latest indictment of Donald Trump

Ten people have been injured after a stolen car plowed into a busy sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan. The driver, aged 20, slammed into the crowd while being pursued by police at East 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, near Grand Central Station, during Tuesday evening’s rush hour. The victims, ranging from six years old to 72, were transported to nearby Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the New York Police Department said. Video from the scene showed a 2018 maroon Hyundai Tucson with Illinois plates with a badly-damaged front. The car was reported stolen from the Bronx in July. The NYPD said that officers had tried to pull over the vehicle to determine if it was the stolen car but the driver refused. A cyclist was also hit during the chase and a yellow cab. After making a U-turn and driving in the wrong direction on Lexingon Avenue, the maroon Hyundai hit a black Toyota head-on. People on the street prevented the driver from fleeing until he was arrested. Police are still seeking a female passenger of the maroon Hyundai who fled the scene. Read More North Carolina hit-and-run that injured 6 migrant workers was accidental, police say 3 US Marines died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a car. Vehicle experts explain how that can happen

Donald Trump has been charged over an alleged plot to overthrow the 2020 election, adding to his growing list of legal woes. The ex-president now faces four counts of violating three sections of the federal criminal code as he and a group of allies schemed to find a way to somehow keep him in the White House for a second term despite losing to Joe Biden. Grand jurors in Washington DC have spent months hearing evidence and witness testimony as part of a long-running probe into Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss and the January 6 attack on the Capitol which sprung from those efforts. On Monday they approved the indictment against the Republican on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding, and deprivation of rights under colour of law on Tuesday after a four-hour presentation by Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith and his team of prosecutors. In a statement to reporters shortly after the indictment was unsealed, Mr Smith said the January 6 attack was “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy” that 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”. Mr Smith praised the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol that day as “heroes ... patriots and they are the very best of us” who “put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people” and “defended the very institutions and principles that define the United States”. He also said the case against Mr Trump is part of the Justice Department’s efforts to “ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day” and said his office would seek a speedy trial of Mr Trump, who was summoned to appear in court to answer the charges on 3 August at 4.00 pm at the E Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington. The indictment alleges that the ex-president engaged 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,” 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 conspired against “conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted”. Prosecutors allege that Mr Trump had six co-conspirators, including five attorneys. According to the indictment, Mr Trump and his co-conspirators “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”. They further allege that Mr Trump “Defendant 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” in his favour. Prosecutors also cite the efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to cause fake electoral college certificates to be submitted for use by then-vice president Mike Pence to hijack the certification of the election and declare himself and Mr Trump the winners despite having lost. When Mr Pence refused, prosecutors allege that Mr Trump and co-conspirators “repeated knowingly false claims of election fraud to gathered supporters, falsely told them that the Vice President had the authority to and might alter the election results, and directed them to the Capitol to obstruct the certification proceeding and exert pressure on the Vice President to take the fraudulent actions he had previously refused”. They also allege that Mr Trump and his allies “exploited” the January 6 attack on the Capitol “disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification based on those”. Continuing, they say Mr Trump and his co-conspirators “attempted to use the power and authority of the Justice Department to conduct sham election crime investigations and to send a letter to the targeted states that falsely claimed that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election outcome” as they “sought to advance the Defendant’s fraudulent elector plan by using the Justice Department’s authority to falsely present the fraudulent electors as a valid alternative to the legitimate electors”. A significant portion of evidence against the ex-president appears to come from testimony given by Mr Pence, the former vice president. A section of the indictment recounts several private conversations between Mr Trump and Mr Pence, including one in which Mr Trump complained that Mr Pence was “too honest” after he told the then-president that he lacked the power to overturn the election. The latest charges against Mr Trump are some of the most serious allegations levied against the twice-impeached, now thrice-indicted former president, and are just the first of two possible sets of charges that he could face as a result of his efforts to unlawfully reverse the result of his defeat nearly three years ago. A separate grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia has also been hearing evidence about efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to pressure Peach State officials into reversing his loss to Mr Biden there, and the district attorney who has been supervising that process has said charges be approved against multiple targets in the coming days. The addition of a second federal indictment to the legal troubles facing Mr Trump is certain to complicate his quest to return to the White House by winning next year’s presidential election. He is scheduled to be tried in two separate criminal cases against him, including on the federal charges against him and co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira which are pending in a Florida federal court as a result of their alleged roles in the ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information and obstruction of justice. A separate case against him for allegedly falsifying business records in his former home state of New York is set to go to trial in March 2024, while the federal case in Florida is scheduled for trial in late May 2024. The ex-president has maintained that the multiple investigations against him amount to “election interference” and a politically motivated “hoax,” and has repeatedly attacked the prosecutors investigating him in extremely personal terms. These latest charges against Mr Trump are the result of an eight-month investigation by Mr Smith, who was appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to supervise a pair of probes focusing on the ex-president’s conduct. In addition to investigating the ex-president’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information, Mr Smith was also handed control long-running probe into the events leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, when a riotous mob of Mr Trump’s supporters stormed the seat of the US legislature in hopes of blocking the final certification of his loss to Mr Biden. While prosecutors in the office of the US Attorney for the District of Columbia have charged more than 1,000 people for various crimes committed during the riot — including rare seditious conspiracy charges against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers extremist groups — the charges against Mr Trump [and his co-defendants] are the first to be brought against anyone for the efforts to overturn the election which arguably led to the Capitol attack. Mr Trump was impeached for inciting the attack with just days left in his presidency, and though a majority of senators voted to convict him, they fell short of the two-thirds supermajority required to sustain a conviction. But the ex-president and his co-defendants are not being charged for organising, inciting or fomenting what was the worst attack on the Capitol since British troops set it ablaze in 1814. Instead, the charges against them are for crimes which prosecutors allege to have been committed as Mr Trump sought to employ a variety of strategies by which he and his allies thought he could reverse or override the will of voters, including pressuring state legislatures to use their own authority to replace swing state electors for Mr Biden with electors for Mr Trump. Mr Trump and his allies also pushed state officials, most notably Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to act to decertify Mr Biden’s wins in swing states, according to prosecutors. Figures connected to Mr Trump’s campaign also spearheaded an effort to submit forged electoral college certificates to the National Archives and to the Senate, while Mr Trump personally sought to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence into unilaterally throwing out the legitimate electoral certificates for Mr Biden in favour of the forged ones listing Mr Trump as the winner. The case currently pending against him in the Southern District of Florida arose out of a criminal referral from the National Archives and Records Administration after officials discovered documents bearing classification markings in a set of 15 boxes which the agency had retrieved from Mr Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, the 1920’s-era Palm Beach mansion turned private beach club where he maintains his primary residence and post-presidential office. Investigators later discovered more than 100 additional documents with classification markings during an 8 August 2021 search of Mr Trump’s property, and in June charged him with unlawfully withholding the documents from the government and obstructing efforts to determine whether all the classified documents in his possession had been returned. 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