A Michigan judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, saying prosecutors failed to prove the defendants acted with criminal intent and that the group sincerely believed there had been election problems.
Michigan District Court Judge Kristen Simmons, a Democratic appointee, ruled that the 15 individuals acted out of a conviction that there had been fraud in the 2020 vote and that the prosecution had not shown they possessed the level of sophistication required to carry out the crimes alleged. The case was brought by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2023 and charged the defendants with forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery and election-law forgery.
"I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress," Simmons wrote in her decision, adding that the defendants "seriously believed" there were "serious irregularities with the election." The judge also said the documents presented by prosecutors did not align with the level of sophistication the state attributed to the defendants and concluded that the state had failed to prove intent.
Prosecutors allege that after Trump lost Michigan to Joe Biden, several of his supporters signed documents claiming to be the state's official electors and submitted those documents to the National Archives. The documents were later cited by Trump allies who urged Congress not to certify the Electoral College results on Jan. 6, 2021. Among those charged was former Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock. A 16th person named in the original indictment had charges dropped after agreeing to cooperate with the attorney general's office.
Nessel, speaking outside the courthouse after the ruling, said the state stood by its decision to bring the case and disputed the judge's findings. "The evidence was clear: They lied. They knew they lied, and they tried to steal the votes of millions of Michiganders," Nessel said. "And if they can get away with this, well, what can they get away with next?"
The dismissal represents a significant legal victory for allies of Trump who backed his claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. All defendants had maintained their innocence throughout the proceedings. Simmons was appointed to the bench by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2019.
The Michigan ruling arrives amid a patchwork of criminal and civil actions tied to the events surrounding the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors in other states have pursued similar cases against people who signed alternate slates of electors; courts have issued divergent rulings. Last month, a Wisconsin judge refused to dismiss charges against three people accused of planning to falsify electoral ballots for Trump in 2020.
Legal analysts said the divergent outcomes illustrate how state-by-state investigations into the post-election alternate-elector schemes are likely to produce varying results as judges weigh intent, knowledge and the particulars of how alternate certificates were created and transmitted. For now, the Michigan dismissal removes one set of criminal exposures for the defendants named in that indictment while leaving other related investigations and prosecutions active elsewhere.