Mark Meadows pleads not guilty to criminal charges in Arizona over election challenge

Former President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with allegations that he worked to overturn the Arizona election results in 2020.

Meadows was indicted by a grand jury in Arizona in April, along with 17 other co-defendants. Trump himself was not indicted. The indictment states that Meadows "worked with members of the Trump Campaign to coordinate and implement the false Republican electors’ votes in Arizona and six other states," according to CNN.

It further alleged that Meadows “was involved in the many efforts to keep (Trump) in power despite his defeat at the polls."

Former 2020 campaign official Mike Roman also pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Meadows and Roman face similar charges in Georgia and were accused of violating the state's RICO law as part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's election case.

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday, however, paused that case pending former President Donald Trump's appeal of a decision permitting Willis to remain on the case if the special prosecutor she hired stepped down.

Roman initially raised allegations that Willis had maintained an improper relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who left the case following a decision from Judge Scott McAfee.