A Michigan judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to certify President Trump as the winner of the 2020 election, marking a major setback for prosecutors pursuing similar cases in other battleground states.
District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons ruled that the defendants would not face trial, saying she found no intent to commit fraud. “Whether they were right, wrong or indifferent, they seriously believed there were problems with the election,” Simmons said. “I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress.”
The case, brought more than two years ago by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, charged each defendant with eight counts of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery, felonies carrying penalties of up to 14 years in prison. Prosecutors alleged the group met at Michigan GOP headquarters in December 2020 and signed a document declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors.”
One man had his charges dropped in 2023 after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, while the remaining defendants pleaded not guilty and maintained their actions were lawful. Judge Simmons spent nearly a year reviewing evidence in a series of lengthy preliminary hearings before issuing her decision.
Michigan’s case is the first of several “fake elector” prosecutions to be dismissed. Prosecutors in Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona have also filed charges, though none have reached trial and many remain tied up in appeals or procedural delays. Nevada revived its case last year, Arizona sent its case back to a grand jury in May, and Wisconsin allowed felony charges against three Trump allies to proceed last month.
