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Democrat Michigan Attorney General Announces Felony Charges Against Trump Supporters For “Alleged False Electors Scheme”

Democrat Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges against 16 Michigan residents for an “alleged false electors scheme” following the 2020 presidential election.

The attorney general’s office charged the 16 Republicans for signing a certificate stating that Donald Trump won Michigan’s 2020 presidential election.

Here’s a list of the 16 defendants:

  • Kathy Berden, 70, of Snover
  • William (Hank) Choate, 72, of Cement City
  • Amy Facchinello, 55, of Grand Blanc
  • Clifford Frost, 75, of Warren
  • Stanley Grot, 71, of Shelby Township
  • John Haggard, 82, of Charlevoix
  • Mari-Ann Henry, 65, of Brighton
  • Timothy King, 56, of Ypsilanti
  • Michele Lundgren, 73, of Detroit
  • Meshawn Maddock, 55, of Milford
  • James Renner, 76, of Lansing
  • Mayra Rodriguez, 64, of Grosse Pointe Farms
  • Rose Rook, 81, of Paw Paw
  • Marian Sheridan, 69, of West Bloomfield
  • Ken Thompson, 68, of Orleans
  • Kent Vanderwood, 69, of Wyoming

Here’s a list of what each defendant has been charged with:

  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Forgery, a 14-year felony,
  • Two counts of Forgery, a 14-year felony,
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony,
  • One count of Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony,
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony, and,
  • Two counts of Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony.

“The false electors’ actions undermined the public’s faith in the integrity of our elections and, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan,” said Nessel.

“My department has prosecuted numerous cases of election law violations throughout my tenure, and it would be malfeasance of the greatest magnitude if my department failed to act here in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organized effort to circumvent the lawfully cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election.”

From Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office:

These defendants are alleged to have met covertly in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on December 14th, and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the “duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.” These false documents were then transmitted to the United States Senate and National Archives in a coordinated effort to award the state’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing, in place of the candidates actually elected by the people of Michigan.

“The evidence will demonstrate there was no legal authority for the false electors to purport to act as ‘duly elected presidential electors’ and execute the false electoral documents,” Nessel continued. “Every serious challenge to the election had been denied, dismissed, or otherwise rejected by the time the false electors convened. There was no legitimate legal avenue or plausible use of such a document or an alternative slate of electors. There was only the desperate effort of these defendants, who we have charged with deliberately attempting to interfere with and overturn our free and fair election process, and along with it, the will of millions of Michigan voters. That the effort failed and democracy prevailed does not erase the crimes of those who enacted the false electors plot.”

Each defendant, or their attorneys, have been notified of the charges and the court will provide each with a date to appear before the 54-A District Court in Ingham County for arraignment.

This remains an ongoing investigation, and the Michigan Department of Attorney General has not ruled out potential charges against additional defendants. Each of the 16 charged defendants will next appear in 54-A District Court in Ingham County for individual arraignments. No dates have yet been set by the court for subsequent proceedings.

WATCH:

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Michigan Democrats face accusations of targeting seniors and retirees who support Donald Trump.

The Post Millennial reports:

Nessel said that after signing the “fraudulent documents,” some of these people “attempted to enter the state capitol and deliver their fabricated electoral votes to the Senate floor but were turned away.”

“The false electoral documents were then conveyed to the United States Senate and the National Archives, with the intent that Vice President Pence would overturn the results of the election using the false electoral slate.”

Nessel said this plan was “fraudulent and legally baseless,” saying that the 16 people’s actions “undermined the public’s faith in the integrity of our elections, and not only violated the spirit of the laws enshrining and defending our democracy but, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan and peaceably transfer power in America.”

The 16 charged face up to 14 years in prison. Nessel said they have one week to surrender.

From NBC News:

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The 16 people include state GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock and state Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden. Michele Lundgren, who was also charged, has told NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit that she thought she was signing an attendance sheet for a meeting.

“I didn’t even know what an elector was, let alone a fake elector,” she told the station.

Berden and Lundgren did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

When reached for comment, Maddock called the charges “political persecution,” saying the country and judges would “put a stop to this to restore our judicial system.”

“The democrats know they can’t beat Trump in 24 so they have to use lawfare to try to imprison their opponents,” Maddock wrote in an email to NBC News.

Nessel had referred the case of Michigan’s 16 electors to the Justice Department, but the nonprofit news service Bridge Michigan reported this year that she was reopening her investigation because federal authorities had not filed charges yet.


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