Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel has become the latest Democrat prosecutor to attempt to springboard their career by launching a get-Trump case ahead of the 2024 election.
Nessel announced felony charges against 16 Michigan residents for their role in putting forth “false electors” to try to help President Donald Trump following the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The charges are:
- 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
- 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.
“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.
“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.”
Today, @MIAttyGen @dananessel announced felony charges against 16 Michigan residents for their role in the alleged false electors scheme following the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Read more ➡️ https://t.co/ODhkAQfXNP /1 pic.twitter.com/u5riNpTD5I
— Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (@MIAttyGen) July 18, 2023
The charged defendants in the politically motivated case are:
- 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
- Mary-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
In some states, the electors who came forward on an alternative slate specifically noted they were only valid if Trump won his legal challenges.
Some did not, however, so expect to see a few more of these soon.
Nessel’s office failed to reveal why she waited until now to bring charges.