A Michigan judge on Tuesday threw out charges against 15 people accused of acting as “fake electors” for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel brought charges in 2023 against 16 people for allegedly attempting to act as electors in the Electoral College and cast electoral votes for Trump, despite former President Joe Biden winning the popular vote in the state. However, District Court Judge Kristen Simmons ruled on Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence to prove the defendants acted with criminal intent, according to multiple outlets.
“This is not an election interference case,” Simmons said during a hearing Tuesday, according to ABC News.
“I believe that they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress, and that’s based on the statements of all of the people’s witnesses,” the judge added. “There’s many things that could cause a pause in the electoral process, and it doesn’t mean that it’s criminal.”
The charges were tied to a December 2020 meeting where members of the group — including several top Republican officials in the state — allegedly signed documents claiming they were members of the Electoral College and tried to cast votes for Trump.
All 16 defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, but one individual had the charges against him dropped after agreeing to cooperate with the state attorney general’s office in October 2023.
“Right, wrong or indifferent, it was these individuals and many other individuals in the state of Michigan who sincerely believe, for some reason, that there were some serious irregularities with the election, or with the voting, and that somehow their candidate didn’t receive all the votes that was intended to for them,” the judge said Tuesday of the remaining defendants, according to CNN.
Nessel pushed back on the ruling, calling it a “very wrong decision.”
“As prosecutors, we have a moral and ethical obligation to bring charges when there is evidence of a crime,” Nessel said at a press conference following the ruling. “Despite today’s very wrong decision, the evidence is clear and overwhelming.”
Prosecutors can appeal the decision, and Nessel said Tuesday that she is “evaluating” her options, CNN reported.
“This was a farce from the beginning,” Nick Somberg, a lawyer representing defendant Meshawn Maddock, told CNN. “There was no forgery. There was no conspiracy. There was no fraud. We’ve been maintaining their innocence since day one. And Dana Nessel needs to be held accountable.”
Meanwhile, Nessel drew backlash in May after she dropped charges against anti-Israel encampment protesters at the University of Michigan, saying “a reasonable jury would find the defendants guilty of the crimes alleged,” but that “the case has become a lightning rod of contention.”
Nessel’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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