PHOENIX — John Eastman, an alleged architect of an attempt to deliver Arizona’s 11 presidential electoral votes to Donald Trump after his 2020 loss, pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiracy, fraud and other criminal charges brought by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D).

Wearing a navy suit and tie, Eastman appeared alongside his attorneys in a tiny courtroom in the basement of a court complex in downtown Phoenix and became the first of 18 defendants to appear for an arraignment. All were indicted last month by a state grand jury on charges stemming from an alleged Republican-run attempt to put forward a slate of electors purporting that Trump had won the state, despite his 10,457-vote loss to Joe Biden.