PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has dismissed the state’s criminal case alleging that allies of President Donald Trump sought to overturn Arizona’s 2020 presidential election results, but prosecutors said they intend to seek a new indictment before a grand jury, according to court filings and statements released in June.
The dismissal, announced on June 18, follows a series of court rulings that sent the case back to the grand jury process after defense attorneys successfully argued that the original grand jury had not been presented with relevant portions of Arizona law governing presidential election certification. Prosecutors said they could not complete a new grand jury presentation before a court-imposed deadline and therefore moved to dismiss the case while preparing to seek a fresh indictment.
The case, originally filed in 2024, accused 18 Republican defendants, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, of participating in efforts to challenge Arizona’s certified 2020 election outcome. Prosecutors alleged that a group of Republican electors and Trump associates submitted documents falsely asserting that Trump had won the state.
In court filings explaining the dismissal, prosecutors wrote: “This case is complex and will require substantial presentation of evidence and time to accommodate defendants’ request to testify and present evidence.”
Defense lawyers welcomed the move. Mark Williams, an attorney representing Giuliani, said the defendants had done nothing wrong and were exercising constitutional rights. “It’s appropriate that it’s being dismissed,” Williams said.
Several defendants have argued that their actions were lawful and intended to preserve options should election-related litigation have altered the outcome before Congress certified the vote. The remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
Arizona’s Supreme Court earlier this month declined to revive the original indictment, leaving prosecutors to pursue a new grand jury process if they wished to continue the case. Similar “fake elector” prosecutions in Michigan and Georgia have also been dismissed, while related cases remain active in some other states.
As of June 25, prosecutors had reiterated their intention to present the matter to a new grand jury, while details regarding the timing of any new indictment remained unclear.
