Trump has been indicted yet again, for the fourth time. The latest charges come from the state of Georgia and include some of the most far-reaching and potentially damaging accusations. On Aug. 14, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia. Trump and 18 of his allies were hit with RICO charges. RICO stands for Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The act allows prosecutors to tie together various people and crimes, arguing that all parties were working in the same criminal interest. These types of charges also encourage defendants to cooperate with law enforcement in order to catch the most important defendants. The RICO Act was established in the 1970s as a way to go after the mob. It was used successfully against the mafia and famously helped put away John Gotti of the Gambino crime family. Since its enactment into federal law, 33 states have adopted RICO laws on a state level. Trump and his allies have each been charged with one count of violating Georgia’s RICO act by allegedly trying to undo his loss in the 2020 election in the state.The introduction to the indictment states: “Defendant Donald Trump lost the United States presidential election, held on November 3, 2020. One of the states he lost was Georgia. Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity, in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the state of Georgia, and in other states.”Among the defendants accused include Rudy Guiliani, who championed the use of the RICO act while Mayor of New York City, Mark Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff and Sidney Powell, attorney who pushed election conspiracies. Some crimes the 19 defendants are accused of include; creating a pressure campaign to find more votes, harassing state election workers, creating false claims of fraud and appointing a new slate of electors that favor Trump. The Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, who brought the case, has used RICO charges creatively before. Previously, she hit teachers in Atlanta with the charge of cheating on their student’s standardized test scores in an effort to be compensated more, which caused national headlines. She also led the case against the YSL crew which is accused of being a violent criminal gang. Members of the crew include rapper Young Thug and Gunna. In this case, Willis used the social media and rap lyrics of the defendants against them, causing a free speech uproar. Willis wants to try the defendants as a group within six months, but given the sprawling nature of the case, Trump’s busy court schedule and his attorney’s request to postpone the trial to 2026, this case may drag on. RICO charges carry five to 20 years of jail time or a fine. Across Trump’s four indictments, he faces 91 charges. He pleads not guilty to all criminal charges.