Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday that she has filed charges against 16 people who signed paperwork falsely claiming that President Donald Trump had won the 2020 election as part of a scheme to overturn the results.
Presidents are technically voted in by slates of electors from each state who cast their votes for the candidates selected by their states’ popular votes.
In December 2020, as Trump tried to overturn the results of the election, his allies readied alternative slates of electors in several states.
They appear to be the first charges filed against fake electors.
The announcement came the same day Trump said he has been notified that he is the target of an investigation by a Washington-based grand jury examining the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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.".
Nevada’s attorney general, Democrat Aaron Ford, declined to prosecute the fake electors in that state, while a Georgia prosecutor investigating Trump and his allies has told false electors they could face criminal charges. »