Former president Donald Trump has been indicted on four charges over his bid to overturn the result of the 2020 US election.
It comes as Mr Trump already faces criminal charges in two other cases, as he campaigns to regain the presidency next year.
Mr Trump was indicted on Tuesday evening on four charges including “conspiracy to defraud” the US in a federal probe over an effort to undo his election loss and subvert the transfer of power in the run-up to the January 6 Capitol riot.
The indictment alleges Mr Trump conspired with six other unnamed individuals to overturn the results.
Prosecutors wrote that Trump knew his claims that the election was fraudulent were false, but repeated them anyway to “create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger and erode public faith in the administration of the election.”
The former president has been summoned to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Washington on Thursday.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said he has always followed the law and characterised the indictment as a political “persecution” reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has been investigating allegations that Mr Trump and his allies sought to overturn Democratic rival Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Officials have testified that Mr Trump pressured them based on false claims of widespread voting fraud.
His supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Mr Biden’s victory.
Mr Trump on July 18 said he had received a letter from Mr Smith telling him that he was a target of the January 6 grand jury investigation in Washington.
He has characterised the probe, as well as the other cases against him, as part of a politically motivated witch hunt.
Mr Smith, who was appointed as special counsel in November by US Attorney Merrick Garland, previously charged Mr Trump with unlawfully retaining classified government documents after leaving office in January 2021 and obstructing justice.
In a post on his Truth Social app on Tuesday evening UK time, Mr Trump said he had heard Special Counsel Jack Smith would announce an indictment against him at 5pm (10pm BST).
“I hear that Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media site before the charges were confirmed.
Despite his legal woes, Mr Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to public opinion polls.
