Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty this Thursday of the conspiracy charges to overturn the results of the 2020 election, by appearing in federal court in Washington DC.
The tycoon is being accused of trying to fraudulently reverse the results of the 2020 elections, where he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States government and witness tampering; at a time when the then-president was making fervent and unfounded claims of electoral fraud. They also link it to the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump arrived at the courthouse in a Secret Service motorcade, and pleaded not guilty before Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya, a judge born in India and raised in Kansas. She was appointed a US magistrate judge on September 7, 2022, according to her Washington District Court biography.
"Regarding counts one through four, how does Mr. Trump plead?" the judge asked Trump, who wore a blue suit and red tie.
The accused raised his head and responded: "Innocent," he quoted The Washington Post.
Upadhyaya then reminded Trump that he would be released, but under certain conditions, including not violating any laws, appearing in court when required and avoiding communicating with witnesses in the case unless through a lawyer.
His next court appearance is scheduled for August 28 at 10 a.m. before District Judge Tanya Chutkan, but this time Trump will have the option of not attending personally.
Trump pleaded not guilty like hundreds of others accused of various crimes as a result of the riots that his supporters caused on January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol building to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's electoral victory.
According to the Washington prosecutor's office, 1,077 people face federal charges related in some way to that attack. Trump, it's number 1,078.
This accusation represents the third criminal case against the former president since announce his aspiration for the presidential candidacy of the Republican Party for the 2024 elections.
The Justice Department had been investigating Trump and his allies' plans for months to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to Biden, and now severely accuses him of attacking the constitutional foundations to remain in power through conspiracies.
A few weeks ago Trump appeared before a Miami court for withholding classified documents in his Florida mansion after leaving the White House.
It was then expected that the former president would be prosecuted for his alleged connection with the events associated with the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as happened this Thursday.
Meanwhile, another grand jury in Georgia made another indictment against Trump for interfering in the electoral process in the state.
Trump, who has been investigated for his 2021 phone call to a Georgia election official, in which he pressured him to find thousands of votes in his favor, has denied any wrongdoing and the entire event led to an investigation by Fulton County District Attorney, Democrat Fani Wallis.
Despite these demands, a poll on Tuesday showed that Trump is the favorite among competitors in the race for the Republican presidential nomination with 54% support. The survey, by the New York Times/Siena College, indicates that the former president's closest rival is the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis (17%), who is no less than 37 percentage points below the magnate.
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