Judge Tosses Case Against 15 Accused ‘False’ Trump Electors From 2020

A Michigan judge on Tuesday threw out a case against 15 republicans accused of falsely trying to certify the 2020 election for Donald Trump.

Judge Kristen D. Simmons of Ingram County District Court said in a livestreamed hearing that the defendants will not face trial, and announced she was dismissing the charges. 

“These cases will not be bound over to the circuit court,” Simmons announced, adding “Each case will be dismissed.“

Simmons noted that the charges against the 15 Republicans are part of a fraud case – which requires that prosecutors “prove intent,” adding that she does not believe “that there’s evidence sufficient to prove intent” of fraud.

Prior to her decision, Simmons said “[State prosecutors] would like the court to believe that these named defendants were savvy or sophisticated enough to understand fully the electoral process, which the court does disagree [with] because the document that was presented doesn’t even align with the level of sophistication that they want me to believe.”

As the Epoch Times notes further, Simmons noted that a main witness in the case said that “there was no intent to defraud … and that all of the proposed Republican electors that he encountered were trying to do what they believed was the right thing.”

All of the defendants pleaded not guilty in 2023 when the charges were brought against them by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Initially, there were 16 defendants, but one defendant’s charges were dropped after that defendant cooperated with the office, according to court documents.

Each member of the group, which included a few high-profile members of the Republican Party in Michigan, faced eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top felony charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Investigators said the group met at the Michigan GOP headquarters in December 2020 and signed a document stating they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors,” Nessel’s office said. Michigan electoral officials certified former President Joe Biden as the winner of the state in the 2020 election by about 155,000 votes.

Electors are part of the 538-member Electoral College that officially elects the president of the United States. In 48 states, electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. In Nebraska and Maine, elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.

Prosecutors in Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona have also filed criminal charges related to the alleged fake electors scheme. None of the cases has neared the trial stage, and some have been bogged down by procedural and appellate delays.

The alleged effort to secure fake electors was central to a federal indictment against Trump, brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, that was abandoned before Trump took office for his second term.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.