Headline Roundup • July 18th, 2023
Michigan AG Announces Charges Over 'Alleged False Electors Scheme'
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) announced charges against 16 Michigan residents for “their role in the alleged false electors scheme following the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
Details: According to a press release from the attorney general, the accused individuals “met covertly in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on December 14th, and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the ‘duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.’ These false documents were then transmitted to the United States Senate and National Archives in a coordinated effort to award the state’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing, in place of the candidates actually elected by the people of Michigan.”
For Context: These charges are separate from the Department of Justice’s investigation into Jan. 6. Six other states— Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin— also had instances of fake electors attempts. Joe Biden won all of these states, but the fake electors claimed they were won by Donald Trump. Investigations into the fake electors are confirmed to be underway in Arizona and Georgia as well.
How the Media Covered It: Left-rated outlets covered the charges more prominently and frequently. The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) included a quote from one of the individuals charged claiming that “the Trump campaign asked us to” submit the false electors.
Featured Coverage of this Story

REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
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 Michigan Attorney General's Office has charged 16 people for signing certificates claiming that former President Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2020.
The individuals have each been charged with eight felony counts, including forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, and election law forgery. Some of the charges carry jail sentences of 14 years and/or a $10,000 fine.
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges against Kathleen Berden, William Choate, Amy Marie Facchinello, Clifford Frost Jr., Stanley Grot, John Haggard, Mari-ann McQuater Henry, Timothy King, Michele Goder Lundgren, Meshawn Maddock,...

Emily Elconin for The Washington Post
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) announced felony charges Tuesday against the 16 Michigan Republicans who falsely claimed to be the state’s 2020 presidential electors for forgery and other crimes, bringing the first charges in the country against Trump electors as investigations over attempts to overturn those results intensify across the country.
The charges were brought against former state Republican Party co-chairwoman Meshawn Maddock and 15 others for submitting official-looking paperwork to the federal government asserting they were casting the state’s electoral votes for Donald Trump. Joe Biden won Michigan,...
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