Michigan AG Charges 16 ‘Fake Electors’ for Trump for Allegedly Trying to Overturn 2020 Election
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed felony charges against 16 Michigan Republicans who allegedly tried to overturn the state’s 2020 election in favor of President Donald Trump.
Each defendant faces the following charges:
- 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.
Nessel claimed the 16 Republicans tried to “interfere in the 2020 election to reject the will of the voters.”
Nessel’s office detailed the Republicans’ alleged plot:
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.
Former Michigan GOP Chair Laura Cox told the January 6th committee that Trump supporters came to her with a plan:
Former Michigan GOP Chair Laura Cox, meanwhile, detailed to the congressional committee one plan Trump allies discussed with her proposing an attempt to seat fake electors by entering the state Capitol the night before the Electoral College vote. Michigan election law specifically requires the state’s presidential electors convene in the Michigan Senate chamber at 2 p.m. EST the day they are supposed to cast the state’s votes for president and vice president.Cox called the idea “insane and inappropriate” in a video of testimony she gave the committee after she was subpoenaed. She said the plan for Republicans to hide overnight in the state Capitol never occurred.But some Republican lawmakers still joined members of the group of fake Trump electors in an attempt to enter the Michigan State Capitol in December 2020. They were denied access.But according to Nessel’s office, they allegedly met in the basement of the Michigan GOP headquarters on Dec. 14 and signed fake certificates falsely claiming the Republican slate was the legitimate set of delegates to the Electoral College. Those documents were sent to the U.S. Senate and National Archives.
However, an affidavit claimed that Cox and the Republican National Committee organized the meeting of the Republican electors.
Here are the 16 defendants:
- Meshawn Maddock: Republicans chose Maddock to serve as Michigan GOP co-chair after the 2020 election.
- Kathy Berden: In 2015, the state committee of the Michigan GOP elected Berden as the party’s national committeewoman. The fake certificate of electors lists Berden as “Chairperson, Electoral College of Michigan.”
- Mayra Rodriguez: Rodriguez is a Michigan lawyer facing a complaint from the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission filed with the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board recommending disciplinary action against her. The fake certificate of electors lists Rodriguez as “Secretary.”
- Timothy King: King was the lead plaintiff in a legal effort led by Trump ally Sidney Powell to overturn the 2020 election in Michigan.
- John Haggard: Haggard served as a Republican elector in 2016. He was one of the plaintiffs who brought a lawsuit in the wake of the 2020 election to try to name Trump the winner.
- Stanley Grot: Grot serves as Macomb County’s Shelby Township clerk.
- William “Hank” Choate: Choate previously served as the chair of the Jackson County Republican Party and chair of the Michigan GOP’s 7th District.
- Amy Facchinello: Facchinello was elected to serve as a board member of Grand Blanc Community Schools in 2020.
- Clifford Frost: Frost previously ran for office and served on the Michigan GOP state committee.
- Mari-Ann Henry: A previous webpage for the Greater Oakland Republican Club showed Henry was involved with the group.
- Michele Lundgren: Lundgren ran as a Republican in 2022 seeking to represent part of Detroit in the Michigan House of Representatives. She lost her election to incumbent state Rep. Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck.
- James Renner: Renner was one of two names that appear on the fake certificate of electors who was not originally nominated by the state’s Republican Party to serve as an elector in the event of a Trump victory.
- Ken Thompson: Thompson is the second individual whose name appears on the fake certificate of electors who was not originally nominated by the state’s Republican Party to serve as an elector in the event of a Trump victory.
- Rose Rook: Rook has held various local leadership positions with the Republican Party.
- Marian Sheridan: Sheridan currently serves as the Michigan GOP’s grassroots vice-chair. She was also a plaintiff in the federal election lawsuit to try to award Michigan’s Electoral College votes to Trump.
- Kent Vanderwood: Vanderwood currently serves as mayor of the city of Wyoming.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY