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Trump pleads not guilty to federal charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election

Former President Donald Trump speaks before he boards his plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday in Arlington, Va., after facing a judge on federal conspiracy charges that allege he conspired to subvert the 2020 election. Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to trying to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss, answering for the first time to federal charges that accuse him of orchestrating a brazen and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

Trump appeared before a magistrate judge in Washington’s federal courthouse two days after being indicted on four felony counts by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith. In a criminal case seen as the most historically consequential of the three that he faces, Trump stands accused of trying to subvert the will of voters and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory before Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent clash with law enforcement.

Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner, sat stern-faced with his hands folded, shaking his head at times as he conferred with an attorney and occasionally glancing around the courtroom as his court appearance began. He stood up to enter his "not guilty" plea, answered perfunctory questions from the judge and thanked her at the conclusion of the arraignment.

His appearance Thursday unfolded — as will the rest of the case — in a downtown courthouse in clear view of the Capitol and in a building where more than 1,000 of the Capitol rioters have been charged.

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