Following Donald Trump’s Indictment, a Look Back at Efforts to Overturn the 2020 Election

Update: Former President Donald Trump was indicted for a fourth time on Aug. 14, 2023. Trump was charged with 13 counts, and 18 other people were also indicted in relation to efforts to reverse the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia. The former president has decried the investigation as a “witch hunt” and a statement from his campaign said it was based on “fabricated accusations.”

In an August 1, 2023 grand jury indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith, the U.S. Department of Justice issued charges against former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in widespread efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment details four criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States.

In in-depth documentaries that are available to stream in full online, including the two-hour special, Lies, Politics and Democracy, FRONTLINE has examined the aftermath of Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election and his alleged role in efforts to overturn the election that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and is the first former president to be criminally charged, was indicted on federal charges in June in a separate investigation involving the handling of classified documents, and in March on New York state charges related to a “hush money” payment to an adult film star. Trump has pleaded not guilty in both cases. In a statement on Aug. 1, his campaign described the third and latest indictment as “election interference” and said that “President Trump has always followed the law and the Constitution, with advice from many highly accomplished attorneys.”

With Trump expected to be arraigned in federal court in Washington, D.C., today, August 3, explore FRONTLINE’s collected documentaries on efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Lies, Politics and Democracy

From Michael Kirk and his team, this September 2022 documentary investigates how Trump and other American political leaders fed the public lies about the 2020 presidential election and embraced rhetoric that led to political violence.

Plot to Overturn the Election

An investigation of how the myth about widespread election fraud made its way to the center of American politics. From FRONTLINE and ProPublica, this March 2022 documentary by Samuel Black and A.C. Thompson traces how a handful of people had an outsized impact on the current U.S. crisis of democratic legitimacy.

American Insurrection

An investigation of how the threat of far-right extremist groups evolved during Trump’s presidency, from the deadly 2017 white supremacist Charlottesville rally to the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. From a team led by Rick Rowley and A.C. Thompson, the documentary, updated in January 2022, is a collaboration with ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program, with support from the WNET Group’s Exploring Hate initiative.

United States of Conspiracy

How trafficking in conspiracy theories went from the fringes of U.S. politics into the White House — aided by an alliance among Trump, his longtime advisor Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. From Michael Kirk and his team, the documentary was updated in January 2022.

Trump’s American Carnage

Made in the weeks following the attack on the Capitol, this January 2021 documentary from Michael Kirk and his team examines the road to January 6. The documentary investigates Trump’s siege on his enemies, the media and even the leaders of his own party, who for years ignored the warning signs of what was to come.

These and hundreds of additional FRONTLINE documentaries are available to stream on our website, in the PBS Video App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.