Michigan’s Attorney General charges 16 Trump 2020 electors.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has dropped a bombshell, announcing charges against 16 individuals who falsely claimed that President Donald Trump won Michigan in the 2020 election.
These 16 people now face serious felony charges that could result in a maximum sentence of 85 years in prison. Nessel’s office has labeled this as a “false electors scheme” that occurred after the 2020 presidential election.
“The actions of these false electors not only eroded the public’s trust in our elections, but also blatantly violated the laws that govern our elections in Michigan,” stated Nessel.
Nessel further emphasized the importance of taking action in this case, stating, “Throughout my tenure, my department has prosecuted numerous cases of election law violations. It would be a grave failure if we did not act in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organized effort to undermine the legally cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election.”
Following President Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, Republican electors in seven states, including Michigan, cast alternative votes for him.
While it is not unprecedented for dueling sets of electors to cast votes in a presidential election, the sheer number of states doing so in 2020 created uncharted territory.
Preserving Legal Claims
Republicans in some states argued that casting alternative elector votes would preserve President Trump’s legal claims as various court challenges unfolded.
“Sending more than one slate of electors is not unheard of,” explained Meshawn Maddock, former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party. “It is our duty to the people of Michigan and to the U.S. Constitution to send another slate of electors if the election is in dispute—and clearly, it is.”
Maddock is among the 16 individuals charged by the Michigan Attorney General’s office. The other defendants include Kathy Berden, a Republican National Committeewoman from Michigan, as well as William (Hank) Choate, Amy Facchinello, Clifford Frost, Stanley Grot, John Haggard, Mary-Ann Henry, Timothy King, Michele Lundgren, James Renner, Mayra Rodriguez, Rose Rook, Marian Sheridan, Ken Thompson, and Kent Vanderwood.
According to the Michigan AG’s office, these individuals gathered at the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on December 14, 2020, and signed multiple certificates falsely claiming to be the “duly elected and qualified electors” for the President and Vice President of the United States in Michigan.
“That was a lie,” declared Nessel during a press conference. “They were not the duly elected and qualified electors, and each of the defendants knew it.”
These fraudulent documents were then sent to the U.S. Senate and the National Archives as part of a coordinated effort to redirect Michigan’s electoral votes to a different candidate than the one chosen by the people of Michigan.
“The evidence will prove that these false electors had no legal authority to act as ‘duly elected presidential electors’ and submit these fraudulent electoral documents,” Nessel stated.
Each of the accused individuals faces multiple felony charges, including forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, and “uttering and publishing” false documents.
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