Arizona's fake electors, Trump allies have been indicted. Here's what comes next

The 18 people indicted by an Arizona grand jury in the fake electors case and the state Attorney General's Office are set for a lengthy, challenging battle, a former Arizona U.S. attorney said.

"Realistically, it's not going to come anywhere near trial in 2024," said Mel McDonald, who was also a former Maricopa County prosecutor and Superior Court judge, retiring from private practice in 2021. "This is going to be an enormous, enormous political event."

The defendants include two current Arizona lawmakers, Sens. Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman, former state GOP Chair Kelli Ward and her husband, plus people outside of Arizona who are described in the indictment but not named. The unnamed defendants appear to include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and other allies of former President Donald Trump associated with similar cases in Georgia and Michigan.

Read the indictment: Arizona grand jury's indictment of fake electors

What's the next step in the legal process for the fake electors?

Each of the defendants was served with the indictment and most, if not all, already have attorneys.

The next step is for each defendant to negotiate a time and day to self-surrender to a jail facility for booking.

Defendants will submit to booking photos and fingerprinting, and they will see a judge about terms of release on their own recognizance.

Most likely, they will have an arraignment hearing at the same time, letting a judge know they are pleading not guilty, McDonald said.

What about the unnamed defendants who don't live in Arizona?

Those not in Arizona, like Giuliani, must travel to Arizona for the booking at their own expense or face a likely bench warrant, McDonald said.

After that will come numerous court dates and discovery of evidence by each side that will probably include voluminous documents by Mayes' office.

"It's going to be massive," McDonald said.

While each defendant will face their own challenges, Mayes and her office must decide how to manage the case. A single venue won't be large enough to try 18 defendants at once, so attorney motions are likely to request severing the defendants into groups with "common threads," McDonald said.

Who will serve on the jury?

In addition, "picking a jury in this case is going to be a nightmare" because the public is so politically divided, he added. Plus, many Arizonans are somewhat familiar with the basic facts of the case and some of the people involved.

McDonald expected Mayes to argue how the case represents a serious threat to the election system. But her opponents are likely to push for a different prosecution agency, alleging that Mayes, a Democrat, is politically biased.

"Everybody's been living this stolen election stuff for years," McDonald said. "A lot of people out there believe the election was stolen. Others believe those people are crazy."

Read more about the charges: Grand jury indicts fake electors who falsely certified Donald Trump as 2020 winner in Arizona

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona fake electors: What to know about indictments of Trump allies