ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump’s 13 felony indictments in Georgia for attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election has spurred mixed reaction in Georgia.

Notable Republicans who were the subject of Trump’s alleged intimidation appear to side with a Fulton County grand jury’s Aug. 14 decision, splitting from other Republicans who have lashed out at indictments against the apparent 2024 presidential Republican frontrunner.

“The most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the Constitution and rule of law. You either have it or you don’t,” Ga. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement Aug. 15.

Raffensperger was infamously on a recorded private phone call with Trump after the 2020 general election. Trump can be heard on the call pressing Raffensperger to “find” 11,870 votes, which would have given him the victory in Georgia, surpassing then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s total.

After Monday’s indictment announcement, Ga. Gov. Brian Kemp dug into his stance that the state’s 2020 election was not “stolen” as claimed by Trump and his allies.

“For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward — under oath — and prove anything in a court of law,” Kemp said. “…The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus.”

Trump and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani have the most counts (13) among the 19 defendants who were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury Aug. 14.

The nearly 100-page indictment alleges a months-long coordinated conspiracy to overturn the 2020 elections through the spread of false information, harassment and fraud.

Some of the defendants are accused of participating in a “fake electors” scheme by signing certificates falsely declaring Trump as the election winner in Georgia. Some defendants are also accused of copying data and software from election equipment in Coffee County by a computer forensics team hired by Trump allies.

Quentin T. Howell, chairman of the Baldwin County Democratic Committee in Milledgeville and first vice-chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party, said the indictment of the Georgia officials was most important for him.

“Georgia, unlike other states, [is] pressing charges against multiple other people, and I think that’s the importance that people are missing here in Georgia,” Howell said. “…Those people gave access to the software people that the State of Georgia uses for its voting machines. … The only things that I see on a wide-scale basis that Democrats and Republicans who understand the process of voting is that we have a problem with these voting machines mainly because of what these Coffee County registrars did in allowing the software to be copied.”

The Coffee County incident involving alleged tampering with voting software and ballots is a key part of the indictment against Trump and the 18 other defendants.

They have all been charged with violation of the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act.

Among Trump’s charges is conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree; conspiracy to commit false statements and writings; and false statements and writings.

The indictment comes after an investigative special grand jury in Fulton County, sanctioned by Willis in 2022, recommended that Willis seek indictments following a nine-month investigation.

In the wake of the indictment, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) continues suggesting that the Georgia indictment and Trump’s indictments in three other U.S. jurisdictions, are part of a witchhunt against Trump.

“Corrupt Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ investigation (WITCH HUNT) of President Trump dragged on for over two and a half years, just in time to interfere with the 2024 Presidential Election,” Greene posted on social media. “That’s not a coincidence. That’s election interference.”

Former Ga. Congresswoman Kelly Loeffler appears to agree.

“Fani Willis spent 2.5 years pursing Joe Biden’s political opponent instead of actual criminals in the city of Atlanta. If anyone is interfering in an election, it’s [the] Fulton County DA — not President Trump,” Loeffler said.

The Fulton County indictment also includes charges against former Georgia Republican Party officials David Shafer, the former Georgia GOP chair; Shawn Still, former Georgia GOP finance committee chair; and Cathleen Latham, former chairman of the Coffee County Republican Party.

“I think, in the best interest of the nation … the indictment should’ve never been brought,” Dennis Futch, chairperson for the Colquitt County Republican Party, said. “This is unprecedented in the history of America. The Georgia Republican Party is going to have to legally support our former officials in good faith, and that’s going to take a lot of money that we could have used to promote our candidates. We’ll have to even go in harder in fundraising to even get back to even. So that’s the game they’re playing. It’s lawfare.”

Futch said that Fulton County likely doesn’t have a valid case for a conviction of the state’s Republican Party defendants. He referenced a 1960 election in Hawaii between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Democrats attempted to submit an alternate certificate declaring Kennedy the winner despite vote tallies indicating Nixon was the winner in Hawaii.

“And under the law, they could do that but no one was charged. It just depends on the view you take and how you interpret the law and rule,” Futch said. “If you interpret it as I think it was written, they don’t have a case.”

Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon also referenced the Hawaii incident in a lengthy statement in response to the indictment.

McKoon further stated that Georgia’s “fake electors” met on Dec. 14, 2020, the last day allowed by law to cast electoral votes and 10 days after the election contest was filed. After Fulton County judges had failed to schedule a hearing on the election contest, he said Shafer followed counsel’s advice by convening a meeting of the electors to cast votes to preserve Trump’s contest.

“These electoral votes were only to be counted if the President prevailed in his properly filed and pending election contest,” McKoon said. There is no evidence — none — that the electors were acting illegally.”

Ga. Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler said Aug. 15 in response to the indictment that Georgia voters must hold Republicans who have enabled Trump’s behaviors and accusations accountable.

“Georgia Republicans enabled Trump for years and continue publicly stating that they will support him if he is the 2024 GOP presidential nominee,” Butler said. “If we punish Trump but allow his enablers to continue holding power, our country’s institutions and democracy will suffer.”

Willis, at a press conference Aug. 14 discussing the indictments, emphasized that the they are only charges, and her office now bears the burden of proof at a trial, which she hoped would be scheduled within six months.

Trump and the other listed defendants face mandatory prison time of five to 20 years if convicted by a jury on the RICO charge.

Seth Kirschenbaum, a former federal prosecutor and a defense lawyer since 1985, said the broad scope of the state’s RICO statute could make the state’s case receptive to the jury that will ultimately decide on a conviction, especially considering the evidence that has been publicly discussed.

“The list of crimes is so long and so broad that if there’s a group of people that are committing some sort of criminal enterprise or criminal acts, it’s not going to be that hard for the prosecutor to find crimes that are listed in the in the RICO statute,” he said.

Kirschenbaum explained that the state will have to prove that the group of people committed two crimes within four years. Example of paired or predicate crimes can include fraud, intimidating witnesses, threatening witnesses, he said.

Kirschenbaum also noted that the state’s statutes allows RICO convictions for “attempts” to commit a violation.

Willis is known for her pursuit of RICO charges in Georgia.

In 2015 she led charges against Atlanta public school teachers who were convicted under RICO for conspiring to fraudulently report higher student test scores.

She is also pursuing a RICO conviction against rapper Young Thug and more than a dozen others alleging a criminal enterprise that “obtaining money, weapons and other property through acts of racketeering activity, including robbery, theft and the unlawful sale and distribution of drugs.”

“Prosecutors, they love RICO, it complicates things,” Kirschenbaum said. “It has enhanced penalties, especially in cases where there’s money involved, there’s triple damages.”

Willis has given the defendants charged in the Fulton County indictment until Aug. 25 to surrender themselves to the county jail.