A Michigan judge has dismissed felony charges against 15 Republican alternate electors from the 2020 election, dealing a significant blow to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s high-profile case.
The ruling halts months of legal proceedings that had threatened to send many of the defendants — most of them elderly — to prison for decades.
Judge Kristin Simmins, a Gretchen Whitmer (D) appointee, found that prosecutors had not proven the electors intended to defraud the government, a requirement under state law for the charges.
The defendants had been accused of submitting an alternate slate of electoral votes for Donald Trump following Michigan’s disputed 2020 results.
Each defendant had faced eight felony counts, including forgery and conspiracy, carrying potential penalties of up to life in prison. Judge Simmins emphasized that the charges required proof of “specific intent crimes,” but the evidence did not show the electors acted with fraudulent purpose.
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Instead, she said the defendants appeared to believe they were engaged in legitimate legal proceedings.
Her ruling cited testimony from GOP elector James Renner, a former state trooper who was granted immunity but undercut prosecutors by testifying he would not have participated had he thought the meeting was unlawful.
The attorney general’s case faced difficulties from the start. Nessel had previously acknowledged on a Zoom call with progressive activists that holding the trial in Lansing — a heavily Democratic city — would improve her chances of drawing a favorable jury, a remark critics seized on as evidence of political bias.
Simmins also criticized Nessel for accusing her of stalling the case, pointing to the logistical challenges of handling a large group of defendants and extensive testimony.
Additional evidence further weakened the state’s argument, including the fact that participants at the Michigan GOP headquarters meeting allowed photographs to be taken during the session.
Simmins highlighted this lack of concealment, remarking, “People who are committing a crime don’t pose for a photo—that would be weird.” Ultimately, Simmins concluded, “This is a fraud case, and I don’t believe there is enough evidence to prove it.”
