Michigan attorney general charges 16 in 2020 Trump fake elector scheme

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Tuesday that 16 fake electors who signed certificates falsely claiming that then-President Donald Trump had won Michigan in the 2020 election — including Kathy Berden, a Republican National Committeewoman from the state and Meshawn Maddock, the former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party — have been charged with crimes related to the scheme. 

As CNN reported, all 16 individuals were charged with multiple felonies “for their role in the alleged false electors scheme following the 2020 U.S. presidential election,” Nessel’s office announced. The charges range from counts of election law forgery, which carries a maximum of five years in prison, to conspiracy to commit forgery, which carries a maximum of 14 years in prison. 

In a video released alongside the charges by Nessel, she said that “this plan, to reject the will of the voters and undermine democracy, was fraudulent and legally baseless.” She went on to say that the 2020 election was procedurally the same as every previous modern presidential election and reiterated that all allegations of widespread electoral fraud are false. CNN further reported that Nessel’s office “has not ruled out potential charges against additional defendants.”