How Pa. factors into the Jan. 6 indictment of Donald Trump

The latest indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump includes several references to false claims made about the Keystone State.

Pennsylvania is listed among seven states — also including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Wisconsin — where alternate slates of electors were organized to cast votes for Trump in 2020. The U.S. Department of Justice has labeled this as one of three conspiracies enacted by Trump in his effort to halt the transition of power to current U.S. President Joe Biden.

"Some fraudulent electors were tricked into participating based on the understanding that their votes would be used only if the Defendant succeeded in outcome-determinative lawsuits within their state, which the Defendant never did," the indictment states. "The Defendant and co-conspirators then caused these fraudulent electors to transmit their false certificates to the Vice President and other government officials to be counted at the certification proceeding on January 6 (2021)."

What does indicted mean?

An indictment is issued if at least a dozen citizens in a 16- to 23-member grand jury agree that charges are warranted.

Prosecutors show members of the grand jury testimony and other information gathered by investigators. The indictment contains basic information and serves as formal notice to the defendant that the grand jury believes they've committed a crime.

Is Pa. part of the Trump Jan. 6 indictment?

Pennsylvania is referenced several times in the new indictment.

The Department of Justice noted that Trump said there were 205,000 more votes than voters in Pennsylvania. He repeated this lie despite explanations from his acting attorney general and acting deputy attorney general.

Trump's Nov. 11, 2020, criticisms of former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt are alluded to as well.

Schmidt, recently appointed secretary of state in Pennsylvania by new Gov. Josh Shapiro, had told news outlets at the time that he'd seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the city. Schmidt and his family reported receiving numerous death threats after Trump's comments.

The indictment includes mention of a rally organized in Gettysburg by an unnamed co-conspirator widely believed to be Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

A day after then-Gov. Tom Wolf certified Biden's win to the federal government, the co-conspirator repeated the claims that Pennsylvania received and counted more absentee ballots than it had sent out. A campaign staffer wrote internally that the claims were "just wrong" and that there's "no way to defend it."

"We have been saying this for a while," a deputy campaign manager said in response. "It's very frustrating."

The indictment also notes that Trump shared a social media post in December 2020 labeling Pennsylvania Republican legislative leaders as cowards for their public statement that the General Assembly "lacked the authority to overturn the popular vote and appoint its own slate of electors."

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About a month later, with protesters assembled outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the indictment states that Trump falsely claimed Pennsylvania's Legislature wanted to "recertify their votes."

Trump told the crowd the only way this could happen was if then-Vice President Mike Pence rejected the standing certification. The crowd chanted "Send it back" in response.

No Pennsylvania officials are referenced by name in the indictment.

What is Trump charged with?

The indictment accuses the former president of four separate crimes.

Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. He's also accused of obstructing and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.

The charges stem from false or misleading statements by Trump and his supporters that there had been "outcome-determinative fraud" in the 2020 election, leading to numerous unsuccessful legal challenges and a violent riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

What Pa. officials are saying about latest Trump indictment

Perhaps unsurprisingly, reaction to the indictment diverged at party lines within Pennsylvania's congressional delegation. Democrats expressed approval of the charges.

"This evening I find myself thinking of ... the many others who defended us (and the lawful transfer of power) on Jan 6," U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) wrote on social media shortly after the charges were made public.

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) also weighed in.

"As I've said, no one should be above the law in America. That's especially true when it comes to a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election," Evans posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Several of Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress defended him.

“Yet again, the Biden Justice Department is targeting President Trump," U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) said in a press release. "Make no mistake — the two-tiered Biden Justice System has been weaponized against Donald Trump."

"If this can happen to a former President, this can happen to anyone.”

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) questioned the timing of the announcement, referencing recent congressional testimony suggesting that Biden spoke on the phone with clients of his son Hunter Biden. Republicans have accused the Bidens of an influence-peddling scheme that the White House has dismissed as baseless innuendo.

"Every time bombshell evidence drops in the Biden scandal and POTUS needs a distraction, a new Trump indictment follows," Meuser wrote on social media.

Bruce Siwy is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Pennsylvania state capital bureau. He can be reached at bsiwy@gannett.com or on Twitter at @BruceSiwy.