Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday that 16 people were indicted on multiple felony counts related to their involvement in an alleged false elector scheme after the 2020 presidential election.
Among those indicted were Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden and Meshawn Maddock, the former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party.
Nessel charged that the 16 people falsely claimed to be electors in the election in order to claim that former President Donald Trump had been re-elected.
“It would be malfeasance of the greatest magnitude if my department failed to act here in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organized effort to circumvent the lawfully cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election,” Nessel said in a statement.
Nessel claimed that the 16 people charged met in the basement of the headquarters of the Republican Party in Michigan and signed numerous certificates claiming they were the “duly elected and qualified electors" in the presidential election.
"They carried out these actions with the hope and belief that the electoral votes of Michigan's 2020 election would be awarded to the candidate of their choosing, instead of the candidate that Michigan voters actually chose," said Nessel in the announcement.
One of those charged previously claimed she believed she was signing an attendance sheet for the meeting.
"I didn't even know what an elector was, let alone a fake elector," said Michele Lundgren to WDIV-TV.
Each of the alleged false electors has been charged with eight felony counts, including conspiracy to commit forgery, which carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
"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 concluded.
Here's more about the false elector charges:
Michigan AG charges 16 people in election interference investigation
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