Michigan files charges over scheme to boost Trump in 2020 US election

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday announced felony charges against 16 Michigan residents for their roles in an alleged false electors scheme intended to help then-President Donald Trump overturn his loss in the 2020 U.S. election.

The 16 Republicans in the state were accused of submitting a phony slate of electors in hopes of flipping the winner of Michigan in the presidential election from Democrat Joe Biden to Trump.

"The false electors' actions undermined the public's faith in the integrity of our elections and, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan," Nessel, a Democrat, said in a statement.

The charges include forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery, each carrying a possible penalty of five to 14 years in prison.