What you need to know about Ray Smith III’s 2020 election charges

Who was indicted alongside former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election case? Meet some of his co-defendants and read more about their specific charges.

Ray Smith in a police booking mugshot released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS

Georgia lawyer Ray Stallings Smith III, an attorney who worked locally for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign in Georgia, was one of 18 people indicted alongside the former president for allegedly participating in a wide-ranging effort to overturn the election results.

Smith was the first of the defendants to plead not guilty to his charges, back in August.

READ MORE: Read the full Georgia indictment against Trump and 18 allies

What charges does Smith face in Georgia?

Smith was charged on 12 counts:

• Violation of the Georgia RICO act
• 3 counts of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer
• 2 counts of false statements and writings
• Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer
• Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree
• 2 counts to conspiracy to commit false statements and writings
• Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

What did the Fulton County indictment allege?

Prosecutors alleged Smith worked to overturn the election in multiple steps, including claiming to members of Georgia’s state Senate and House of Representatives that there had been widespread voter fraud, which the indictment suggests he knew to be untrue. He also helped appeal to state lawmakers to appoint a slate of alternate electors who would vote for Trump instead of Biden in the Electoral College and encouraged the false Trump elector nominees to sign a document titled “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Georgia.”

WATCH: Jenna Ellis pleads guilty over efforts in Georgia to overturn 2020 election

Smith, along with many of the other named co-conspirators, allegedly presented false information before various committees in Georgia’s legislature between Dec. 3 and Dec. 30, 2020, incorrectly stating that thousands of felons, minors and other ineligible Americans had illegally registered to vote or cast ballots in the presidential election.

What is Smith’s connection to Trump? And what did he do before?

Smith was Trump’s local attorney of record in Georgia.

Smith is a partner and head of litigation at Smith & Liss, where he specializes in “business, real estate, election and probate litigation.” According to his biography, Smith graduated with a bachelor’s degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and received his law degree from Mercer University. He served on Chapel Hill’s Board of Visitors from 2015 through 2019, and was elected to another four-year term in 2022.

He also serves on the board of directors for Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, described as a “memorial to southern history” that includes “a large sculpture commemorating the Confederacy,” according to its website.