Former United States President Donald Trump was on Tuesday charged with attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections, reported Reuters.

Since the results had declared Democrat leader Joe Biden as the winner of the elections in November 2020, Trump has claimed that the polls were not over and that there was a conspiracy to stop him from achieving another term.

Trump’s assertion had led to his supporters storming the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021, to prevent the certification of Biden as the next president.

The violence at the US Capitol building happened hours after Trump addressed a gathering in Washington DC where he had reiterated his claims of vote fraud in the presidential elections. His supporters, including a right-wing militia Proud Boy movement, barged into the US Capitol building to disrupt the certification process.

Trump had also referred to the rioters as “great patriots” in a tweet, reported the BBC.

On Tuesday, the indictment filed in Washington federal district court charged Trump with one count of conspiracy to defraud US, conspiracy against rights and two other counts of obstruction of an official proceeding, reported CNN.

The maximum sentence for obstructing official proceedings is 20 years.

According to the prosecutors, the politician pushed fraud claims he knew to be untrue and pressured state and federal officials, including Mike Pence, who was the vice president at the time, to alter the election results, reported Reuters. He is also accused of inciting the US Capitol violence in a “desperate attempt” to undermine US democracy and cling to power.

This is the third time in four months that Trump has been charged in a criminal case. In June, the Republican leader was charged with mishandling classified documents. He faces seven charges, including unauthorised retention of classified materials under the Espionage Act.

In March, Trump was charged by a Manhattan jury in a criminal case related to making payments during his 2016 presidential campaign bid to silence adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

Despite the mounting charges against him, Trump is leading the Republican’s choice for presidential candidate for 2024 elections.