2023-12-06 23:42:02
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada grand jury on Wednesday indicted six Republicans who submitted election certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election in their state. Nevada thus becomes the third state to file charges against so-called “false delegates.”
“We cannot allow attacks on democracy to go unpunished,” state Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement Wednesday. “Today’s allegations are the product of a long and thorough investigation, and as we pursue this prosecution , I trust that our judicial system will see that justice is done.”
The false delegates have been accused of presenting a false document and issuing a false document, categories of serious crimes that in the United States are punishable by sentences of between one and four or five years in prison.
In December 2020, the six accused Republicans signed certificates falsely claiming that Trump had won in Nevada and sent them to Congress and the US National Archives and Records Administration, where they were ultimately ignored. The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol examined the role these false impeachments played in Trump’s attempt to cling to power after his defeat in 2020.
Michigan’s attorney general filed felony charges in July against 16 false Republican delegates, who would face eight criminal charges, including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The main charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
In Wisconsin, 10 Republicans posing as registered voters settled a civil lawsuit on Wednesday, admitting that their actions were part of an attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. Another 16 false collegiate voters have also been charged in Georgia. Three of them were also charged in August along with Trump for participating in a scheme to illegally overturn the results of the presidential election. They have pleaded innocent.
Ford began investigating bogus commissioners in Nevada last month. That announcement marked a shift for the first Democrat in office, who had previously remained silent on whether he would investigate bogus delegates and later said state law did not directly address whether he could press charges.
Among the false delegates is the president of the Nevada Republican Party, Michael McDonald. On Wednesday he did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law was also indicted, along with Jim Hindle, who runs elections in rural Storey County. Hindle did not return a voicemail left Wednesday requesting comment.
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Associated Press writers Kate Brumback in Atlanta and Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report. Stern is a member of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a program that brings journalists into local newsrooms. Stern is on X as @gabesttern326
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