Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump was hit with 13 criminal counts out of 41 in the new indictment.

The top count was an alleged violation of Georgia's Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico).

The powerful law passed in 1970 initially targeted mob crime but has over the years been used to prosecute other offences, including white-collar schemes and public corruption.

Rico gives lawmakers power to sweep a series of seemingly unrelated acts by different people into one bucket - if they are perceived to support a common objective.

The other charges Trump face include soliciting of violation by oath of a public officer, conspiring to commit impersonating a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery, conspiring to commit false statements, and writing and conspiring to file false documents.

Trump's lawyers have released a statement calling the developments on Monday "shocking and absurd".

The Fulton Country District Attorney's Office had "forced through and rushed" the indictment and relied on witnesses who "harbour their own personal and political interests", say the lawyers, Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Fani Willis "is following [Joe] Biden's lead" in "weaponising government" against political opponents, external.

Meanwhile, Democrats blasted the former US president.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that Trump's fourth indictment "portrays a repeated pattern of criminal activity".

“The actions taken by the Fulton County District Attorney, along with other state and federal prosecutors, reaffirms the shared belief that in America, no-one, not even the president, is above the law,” they said.

The charge sheet refers to the defendants as a "criminal organization", accusing them of a number of crimes, including:

• False statements and writings
• Impersonating a public officer
• Forgery
• Filing false documents
• Influencing witnesses
• Computer trespass
• Conspiracy to defraud the state
• Theft and perjury.

The most serious charge, violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Rico) Act, is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Georgia

Fani Willis has just been asked if she plans to try all 19 defendants in the indictment together in the same trial, to which she responds: "Yes".

She is also asked about a document containing charges against Trump that was reportedly posted on the county's website earlier today and quickly taken down, before an official indictment was returned.

Willis says she can't comment on that matter.

"What I can tell you is we had a grand jury here in Fulton County and they deliberated to almost eight o'clock," she said.

"Right after eight o'clock an indictment was returned."

The list of 18 defendants in addition to Trump, to name a few, includes:

• Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani
• Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows
• Former White House lawyer John Eastman
• Former justice department official Jeffrey Clark

The indictment says the alleged co-conspirators "knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump".

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Georgia

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says she is giving defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than 12:00 local time on Friday 25 August.

She is now taking a few questions from reporters "prior to going to sleep". It's almost midnight in Atlanta.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Georgia

Every individual charged in the indictment is charged with one count of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act because they allegedly participated in "the illegal effort of allowing Donald J Trump to seize the presidential term of office", Willis says.

"The indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia's legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal, racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election results," she said.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Georgia

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has just walked into the room. She's here with several other prosecutors involved in the investigation into Trump.

She said the grand jury returned an indictment today "charging 19 individuals with violations of Georgia law arriving from a criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in this state."

She insisted that everyone charged in the indictment is presumed innocent.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Georgia

I'm at a Fulton County, Georgia government building just across the street from the courthouse waiting for District Attorney Fani Willis to give remarks.

She will be speaking for the first time since we've learned that Trump and 18 others were charged in a 41-count indictment.

The charges have dropped just before midnight.

Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state of Georgia.

He and 18 others have been indicted on counts that include racketeering in a 41-count indictment issued by a Fulton County grand jury.

The indictment marks the fourth time Trump has been criminally charged this year.

He has denied the accusations in all cases.

Our reporters are awaiting a press conference in Fulton County, Georgia. We'll bring you the latest as we have it.

We’re going to pause this page while we wait for more news out of Atlanta.

In the meantime here’s a quick recap of today’s events:

• We’ve been awaiting details of charges against Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential result in Georgia - the former president lost the state to Joe Biden by 11,779 votes
• The grand jury – the panel that decides whether there’s sufficient evidence for a criminal case to proceed – heard from witnesses before voting earlier today
• Just a short time ago, the court clerk told reporters that there were “10 indictments” – but how many of them were against Trump, and the exact charges against him, have yet to be revealed
• Trump faces other criminal cases in New York related to payments to a porn star, in Florida concerning his handling of classified documents, and in Washington DC where a special prosecutor has also accused him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election

Our reporters Kayla Epstein and Madeline Halpert are in court in Atlanta waiting for all the details, and we’ll be back when we hear more. This page was edited by Marianna Brady and Brandon Livesay with help from Sam Cabral and Mike Wendling.

Sean Dilley
BBC News correspondent

This is the closest behind-the-scenes look we’ve had for any of Donald Trump’s court cases.

A few hours ago, dressed in a bright orange dress and accompanied by officials, Court Clerk Che Alexander walked with purpose on her way to process legal papers.

The top of that paperwork was captured by cameras. It confirmed what Alexander said – the document stated that 10 indictments had been presented to the court.

This is the first time cameras have been allowed to film proceedings in a case involving the former president.

Trump’s three previous court appearances this year have not been televised because filming of federal criminal cases is not allowed and cameras were excluded in the New York case.

It’s not clear whether cameras will be allowed for Trump’s eventual appearance in this Georgia case, which is being brought at the state level, or at his eventual trial.

Trump and others are expected to face charges relating to alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

The case here, though we're still waiting to learn more, is likely to centre around claims he tried to pressure local lawmakers into rejecting legitimate votes.

As we wait to learn of the specific charges that will be brought against Donald Trump, his campaign has released a late night statement.

It calls district attorney Fani Willis a "rabid partisan" and said the indictments against the former president are "bogus".

The statement claims Willis has "strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign."

Read about Fani Willis here.

The moment Court Clerk Che Alexander accepts a stack of documents that potentially contain the indictment against the former president.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

It's two hours to midnight in Georgia, and here's where things stand.

The Fulton County Clerk has been given the papers and will now begin processing them.

That means we could be waiting up to three hours to learn what the indictment papers say, according to the clerk.

Reporters will be sticking around, hoping for a hard copy version of the charges.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Cameras caught the top page of the large pile of documents just filed by the grand jury investigating allegations of 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and associates.

It states that 10 indictments have been presented to the court, although it does not detail who has been indicted - or on what charges.

That will have to wait until the full indictments are made public in the coming hours.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Court Clerk Che Alexander has relayed a thick stack of documents from the courtroom to the clerk's office three floors below.

She would not comment on their contents other than to tell reporters they include “10 indictments” - though they could also refer to other matters besides Donald Trump’s case.

She told reporters that “worst case scenario” she would be done processing the documents in three hours.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

The piece of paper in Judge McBurney's hand just now is what we believe to be documents indicting former US President Donald Trump and possibly some of his allies as well.

The clerk took the papers from the judge and was led out of the room by several sheriffs.

“That’s done. Was it everything you’d hoped it would be?” Judge McBurney says to courtroom, in a tongue-in-cheek comment on how long of a wait it has been.

It's just after 21:00 in Georgia.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

A line of sheriffs just walked into the courtroom along with the clerk.

The sheriff just handed Judge McBurney a piece of paper. He is reading it.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court

Clerk Che Alexander is now in her office.

The press are watching intensely as she types.

We aren’t quite sure where she is in the process.