Attorney John Eastman stood outside the courthouse, defiance etched on his face, as he declared his innocence in the face of charges that he helped orchestrate a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona. Eastman, who masterminded a plan urging Congress to reject certification, pleaded not guilty on Friday to a series of felony charges including conspiracy, fraud and forgery, as reported by KTVZ.

"I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona (and) zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona or legislative hearings," Eastman told gathered members of the media. Asserting his confidence in a legal system he believes will ultimately vindicate him, Eastman said, "And I am confident that with the laws faithfully applied, I will be fully be exonerated at the end of this process," an assertion captured by FOX 10 Phoenix. His arraignment marks the first in a series, with 12 more individuals, including nine out of the 11 Republican false electors, slated to face theirs on May 21. These individuals are part of a group accused of submitting documents to Congress falsely stating that Donald Trump had carried the state of Arizona.

In December 2020, in a demostration of defiance to the electoral process, the alleged faux electors convened and signed a declaration, purporting that they were the rightful electors, effectively claiming victory for Trump in a state that he had not won. This one-minute ceremonial performance, punctuated by a video posted on social media by the Arizona GOP, was ultimately an exercise in futility as the document found no footing at the Congress or the National Archives. President Joe Biden had secured Arizona with a margin exceeding 10,000 votes.

Trump, who has been referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator, has yet to face charges in the case unraveling in Arizona, a state now listed among the four with legal challenges brought against the former president's allies. Meanwhile, attempts to formally notify Rudy Giuliani of the charges he faces have hit a wall, with Arizona authorities unable to get a notice through to the erstwhile New York mayor, as confirmed by Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Democratic Arizona Attorney General. Taylor revealed that attempts both in-person and over the phone had been met with failure, with a doorman at Giuliani's New York City apartment refusing the notice, and no luck reaching Giuliani by phone.

Adding to the legal drama, former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows is also scheduled for arraignment on June 7. In the meantime, Eastman is contending with his own legal troubles, not just in Arizona but in other states as well. Over in Georgia, he stands indicted on racketeering and conspiracy, among other charges, in a separate but parallel scheme to subvert the election's outcome, and in a sweeping federal indictment in Washington, DC, related to the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, he is named an unindicted co-conspirator, determined to claw back an election steeped in the processes of democracy, a democracy he now appears to stand against.