Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges Tuesday against 16 Michigan residents for their alleged role in the 'false electors' plan surrounding the 2020 US presidential election.
The individuals, ranging in age from 55 to 82 years old, are all charged with multiple felonies, including conspiracy to commit forgery.
Nessel's office accuses the defendants of meeting covertly in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party's headquarters and signing their names to multiple certificates that said they were the "were the 'duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan'.”
The certificates were reportedly sent to the United States Senate and the 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."
"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," said Nessel in a news release.
Nessel's office says the defendants or their attorneys have been notified of the charges and their arraignments will be scheduled in District Court.
Former President Donald Trump lost Michigan to Joe Biden in 2020. The scheme was allegedly intended to interfere with the will of the voters by delivering the state's electoral votes to Trump.
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