When Donald Trump was indicted on racketeering charges over his attempt in Georgia to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, he wasnt alone. Charged along with him were 18 alleged allies, including some names that have long been associated with Trump.

Mark Meadows, Donald Trumps last chief of staff, was charged along with Trump and 17 others on Monday night with allegedly violating Georgias anti-racketeering law in connection with Trumps efforts to get state officials to overturn President Joe Bidens win there in the 2020 presidential election. He also faces a charge of soliciting a violation of oath by a public officer.

The latter charge stemmed from Meadows participation in an infamous post-election phone call in which Trump tried to persuade Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to rustle up extra votes for Trump, despite a recount that showed Trump had lost to Biden.

Meadows had dodged being charged in any of the three previous criminal cases brought against the former president. Trump has so far been charged in New York, for allegedly falsifying business records, and twice in federal court: once for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and once for alleged conspiracy in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

In her news conference late Monday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis cautioned that all defendants were presumed innocent until proven guilty. An email message left with the Conservative Partnership Institute, where Meadows works, was not immediately returned.

Trump has dismissed both the federal and Georgia election cases as criminalizing his criticisms of the election.

Meadows, a former congressman from North Carolina, has long been seen as a key figure in Trumps efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, an initiative that led to the 45th president facing federal charges in Washington as well.

As Trumps top staffer, Meadows appears to have acted as both a proxy for Trump in some ways he visited Georgias signature match audit as it was being conducted, for example and also a clearinghouse for others working to reverse Trumps defeat.