Donald Trump: all of the ex-president's previous indictments and charges - what happened on January 6?

Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Donald Trump at the moment. The former US president has now been charged over a plot to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

The charge represents more legal issues for Trump as he runs for the White House again in 2024.

Trump stands accused of four counts including conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

The 77-year-old has now been indicted in three cases - the other two being a federal court case regarding the illegal holding of secret documents, and another where Trump faces criminal charges in a hush money case in New York.

But the latest developments here relate to the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021.

What happened on January 6, 2021?

Following President Trump's confirmed defeat to President Biden in the presidential election, a large group of his supporters descended on the US Capitol Building in Washington DC - the seat of the US Congress.

This organised mob included members of right-wing extremist groups such as the 'Proud Boys' and 'Oath Keepers'. Both have been charged with seditious conspiracy in what would become known as an effort to subvert the election result and keep Trump in office.

Supporters of the then President had been gathering around the National Mall in Washington D.C. on January 5 at several events that protested the election. Protestors and others marching were directed to the US Capitol where a play was to be made to prevent Congress from counting the electoral college votes which would formally declare Joe Biden's victory.

A total of five people died during the attack. One was shot by Capitol Police after she breached the building, another died as a result of an overdose, and three are thought to have died of natural causes. Four police officers also took their own lives in the seven months after the incident.

More than 2,000 members of the mob entered the Capitol Building. Pipe bombs were found at the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters. Molotov cocktails were also found near the Capitol building.

Once the Capitol was physically stormed by members of the mob and clashes with police officers occurred, Donald Trump tweeted in a last-minute effort to condemn violence.

He said: "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

It's clear that the actions of the mob itself were not condemned by Trump and The Washington Post even reported that the former President did not want to include 'stay peaceful' in this message.

The United State House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has previously said that the attack was part of a 'seven-part plan' Donald Trump had to overturn the election.

All in all, more than $30 million in damage and security upgrades were carried out at the Capitol after the incident. Speaking on the attack, the man leading the inquiry, special counsel Jack Smith, said: "The attack on our nation's capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment it was fuelled by lies."

But the indictment as a result of the Capitol incident isn't the first time Trump has been charged.

Handling of classified documents

In June, Trump was charged with a 37-count indictment as part of an investigation by the Department of Justice, also led by special counsel Jack Smith, into his handling of classified documents. Officials also alleged Mr Trump conspired with an employee at his Mar-a-Lago club to delete footage once the former president was served with a subpoena.

The FBI seized 33 boxes of documents from Mr Trump’s Florida home, of which approximately 100 were classified. The search was prompted after months of attempts by the National Archive to retrieve documents that Mr Trump took with him after leaving office in 2021.

Mr Smith’s investigation sought to answer the question if Mr Trump knowingly kept the classified documents and if he later obstructed the federal government’s effort to obtain them.

Officials allege that Mr Trump kept highly-classified information in his bathroom, in storerooms, in a bedroom and on a stage in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom. He allegedly showed the materials to unauthorised persons on two separate occasions. His aide Walt Nauta was also charged in the case.

Sexual harassment case

The former president was found liable by a jury in Manhattan in May 2023 for the sexual abuse of former Elle columnist E Jean Carroll.

She accused the president of raping her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, and sued him. Trump has said she was “totally lying” about the allegation, prompting a defamation suit.

The trial in the defamation suit took place in April, with a verdict being reached in early May. Mr Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse of Ms Carroll and for defaming her. The verdict is currently being appealed by Trump.

Stormy Daniels

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance, Jr led a criminal investigation against Mr Trump for more than a year over hush money payments to women accusing him of affairs and potential fraud relating to allegedly selectively altering the value of his business assets for tax and loan benefits.

His office had been investigating whether Mr Trump falsified the Trump Organization’s business records when his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen made a payment of $130,000 to Ms Daniels days before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors (as well as Ms Daniels, and Mr Cohen) claim that the money was used in an attempt to silence Ms Daniels about an alleged affair she had with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has denied having an affair with the adult film star, but not making the payments to her.

Cohen, Mr Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payments to Ms Daniels. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018.

On 30 March 2023, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the former president on criminal charges – making Mr Trump the first current or former US president to ever face criminal charges.

New York fraud case

Lesser known, but still a major legal threat to the ex-President comes from New York Attorney General Letitia James.

On September 21 2022, she filed a $250m lawsuit against Mr Trump and three of his children, accusing them of perpetrating “the art of the steal” through a litany of fraudulent business practices.

The attorney general’s findings have also been referred to federal prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service, Ms James said.

The probe won a major victory when a former federal court judge was appointed to monitor parts of the Trump Organization’s financial activities while the case plays out.

It is thought that a trial here would begin later in 2023.

Adding to this, a trial is set for January 2024 to look at how Trump allegedly used the Celebrity Apprentice TV show to promote marketing schemes.

In response to the latest indictment relating to the January 6, 2021, incident, the Trump campaign released a statement that reads: "The lawlessness of these persecutions of President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the former Soviet Union, and other authoritarian, dictatorial regimes. These un-American witch hunts will fail."