The Nevada attorney general has charged six Republicans with submitting falsified documents to Congress declaring President-elect Donald Trump the winner of the key swing state in 2020.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford argues the defendants signed off on false Electoral College votes for Trump in 2020 even though he lost Nevada by more than 30,000 votes. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada during the 2020 election, Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said at the time.
Ford filed the charges of “uttering a forged instrument” for a second time in Carson City this week after a judge dismissed an initial indictment in Clark County earlier this year, ruling the prosecutor filed it in the wrong venue, the Associated Press reports.
Ford has since appealed the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court. He said in a statement he filed the new indictment to ensure the statute of limitations does not expire while he awaits the appeal, according to the Associated Press.
“While we disagree with the finding of improper venue and will continue to seek to overturn it, we are preserving our legal rights to ensure that these fake electors do not escape justice,” Ford said.
“The actions the fake electors undertook in 2020 violated Nevada criminal law and were direct attempts to both sow doubt in our democracy and undermine the results of a free and fair election,” he added. “Justice requires that these actions not go unpunished.”
The six people named are Michael McDonald, chair of the Nevada Republican party; Jesse Law, chair of the Clark County Republican Party Jim DeGraffenreid, national party committee member; Shawn Meehan, national and Douglas County committee member; Storey County Clerk Jim Hindle; and party member Eileen Rice.
The Independent has contacted the defendants for comment.
The charges join several state-level criminal cases against Trump allies who were part of a nationwide scheme to overturn 2020 results by certifying “alternate” electors in states that Trump lost. Similar charges related to efforts to overthrow the 2020 election are pending in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia. In Wisconsin, prosecutors also filed 10 additional felony charges this week against two lawyers and an aide who allegedly advised Trump in 2020 to baselessly claim he won the state.
Meanwhile, at least 14 people who were reportedly tied to this nationwide “fake electors” scheme in 2020 served as official electors in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan during the 2024 election, The Independent previously reported.
