Michigan’s fake GOP electors arraigned on state charges

By Marshall Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — The 16 Michigan Republicans who served as fake electors in 2020 have pleaded not guilty to the first-of-their-kind felony charges stemming from the Trump-backed election subversion plot.

Nine of the defendants were arraigned on the state charges Thursday at a virtual court hearing in Lansing. The other seven defendants already pleaded not guilty in the past few weeks.

The group of GOP activists were hit with state charges last month over their role former President Donald Trump’s seven-state plan to subvert the Electoral College and overturn the 2020 election results by supplanting lawful Democratic electors with fake Republican electors.

Each of the fake Michigan electors were charged with eight state felonies, including forgery, conspiracy to commit election law forgery, and publishing a counterfeit record. Some of their defense attorneys have already said they’ll challenge the novel prosecution and will try to get the charges dropped. The case is unfolding in Ingham County District Court.

The defendants were released on a $1,000 bond, after state judges determined that they weren’t a danger to the community and didn’t pose a flight risk. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 18, where prosecutors will need to show probable cause of the crimes.

The defendants include current and former Michigan Republican Party officials, a member of the Republican National Committee, a mayor, a school board member and a town clerk. Some have said they were tricked into signing the fake elector certificates and didn’t intend to break the law, while others are still peddling the lie that former President Donald Trump won a second term.

Two weeks after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the state charges, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump on federal charges stemming from his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The sweeping indictment accused Trump of trying to “subvert the legitimate election results and change electoral votes” with the fake elector plot.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the federal indictment, which was filed in Washington, DC.

Some of the Michigan defendants have claimed Nessel, a Democrat, is wrongly targeting political opponents. She has denied these allegations, and instead argues it would have been “political” if she hadn’t filed the charges despite “overwhelming evidence of guilt.”

The 16 defendants are former Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock; current Michigan GOP vice chair Marian Sheridan; RNC committeewoman Kathy Berden; Wyoming, Michigan, Mayor Kent Vanderwood; Shelby Township clerk Stanley Grot; Grand Blanc school board member Amy Facchinello; local GOP officials Rose Rook and Mari-Ann Henry; pro-Trump lawsuit plaintiffs John Haggard and Timothy King; unsuccessful GOP candidates Clifford Frost and Michele Lundgren; and Hank Choate, James Renner, Mayra Rodriguez and Ken Thompson.

First court appearance

The nine fake electors who were arraigned Thursday only spoke briefly at the hearing to answer procedural yes-or-no questions. Their attorneys did most of the talking.

“The probability of conviction is low, given the dubiousness of the factual basis asserted by the government,” Haggard’s attorney Kurt Krause said during the hearing. “…He is eager and looks forward to fighting these charges.”

An attorney for Frost told the magistrate judge that Nessel’s office has already started turning over materials to the defense as part of the “discovery” process. The lawyer said the discovery was “expansive.”

No presidential campaign has ever attempted a multi-state scheme to subvert the Electoral College – which means no prosecutor has ever filed criminal charges like these. The novelty of the prosecution has hung over the proceedings, and prosecutors will need to defend the legality of the charges down the line.

“The nature of the charges, while they are serious, they are nonviolent and they are very unique in nature,” King’s attorney David Gilbert said at the hearing.

Some of the attorneys praised their clients for being involved in their local communities. Matt Borgula, who represents Renner, said the 76-year-old has “lived an impeccable life” and “is not a danger to society at all.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Sabrina Shulman contributed to this report.