By JACQUES BILLEAUD and JOSH KELETY (Associated Press)
Eleven Republicans in Arizona are facing charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery for falsely stating that Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. This makes Arizona the fourth state to bring charges against individuals known as “fake electors.
The 11 individuals, who were supposed to be Arizona’s Republican electors, gathered in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate claiming that Trump had won the state. However, this certificate was later disregarded after being sent to Congress and the National Archives. A short video recording of the signing event was shared on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at that time. Subsequently, the document was sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.
Seven additional individuals were indicted, but their names were redacted from records released by Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. Her office stated that the names will be disclosed after the individuals are served with the charges.
Biden secured victory in Arizona by a margin of over 10,000 votes. eight legal cases that attempted to challenge Biden’s win in the state were unsuccessful. One of these cases was filed by the 11 Republicans who later signed the certificate declaring Trump as the winner.
In their lawsuit, they asked a judge to invalidate the results that led to Biden’s victory in Arizona and prevent the state from submitting them to the Electoral College. However, U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa dismissed the case, stating that the Republicans lacked legal standing and waited too long to present their case, as well as “failed to provide the court with factual support for their extraordinary claims.”
Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, the 11 Republicans participated in the certificate signing.
The charges in Arizona come after several indictments against fake electors in other states.
In December, a Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans on felony charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument in connection with false election certificates. They have pleaded not guilty.
Michigan’s Attorney General in July filed felony charges that included forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery against 16 Republican fake electors. One had charges dropped after reaching a cooperation deal, and the 15 remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Three fake electors also have been charged in Georgia alongside Trump and others in a sweeping indictment accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally overturn the results. They have pleaded not guilty.
In Wisconsin, 10 Republicans who posed as electors settled a civil lawsuit, admitting their actions were part of an effort to overturn Biden’s victory. There is no known criminal investigation in Wisconsin.
Trump also was indicted in August in federal court over the fake electors scheme. The indictment states that when Trump was unable to persuade state officials to illegally swing the election, he and his Republican allies began recruiting a slate of fake electors in battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — to sign certificates falsely stating he, not Biden, had won their states.
New Mexico's Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced in early January that the state's five Republican electors cannot be prosecuted under the existing law. In both New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors added a note stating that the election certificate was submitted in case they were later recognized as duly elected, qualified electors. No charges have been filed in Pennsylvania.
In Arizona, Mayes' predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, conducted an investigation of the 2020 election, but the allegations of fake electors were not part of that examination, according to Mayes' office.
In another election-related case pursued by Mayes' office, two Republican officials in a rural Arizona county who delayed canvassing the 2022 general election results are facing felony charges. A grand jury indicted Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby in November on one count each of conspiracy and interference with an election officer. Both have pleaded not guilty. The individuals facing charges include Kelli Ward, the state GOP's chair from 2019 until early 2023; state Sen. Jake Hoffman; Tyler Bowyer, an executive of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who serves on the Republican National Committee; state Sen. Anthony Kern, who was photographed in restricted areas outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and is now a candidate in Arizona's 8th Congressional District; Greg Safsten, a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party; energy industry executive James Lamon, who lost a 2022 Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat; Robert Montgomery, chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee in 2020; Samuel Moorhead, a Republican precinct committee member in Gila County; Nancy Cottle, who in 2020 was the first vice president of the Arizona Federation of Republican Women; Loraine Pellegrino, president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women; and Michael Ward, an osteopathic physician who is married to Kelli Ward. Efforts to reach Jacob Hoffman, Kelli Ward, Michael Ward, James Lamon, and Tyler Bowyer for comment on Wednesday were not immediately successful. Eleven Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely claiming that Donald Trump won over Joe Biden in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election have been charged with conspiracy, fraud, and forgery. Arizona has become the fourth state to bring charges against "fake electors." The 11 individuals who had been nominated as Arizona's Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate asserting that they were "duly elected and qualified" electors and asserted that Trump had won the state. The document was subsequently sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was disregarded..
The Republicans facing charges are Kelli Ward, the state GOP’s chair from 2019 until early 2023; state Sen. Jake Hoffman; Tyler Bowyer, an executive of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who serves on the Republican National Committee; state Sen. Anthony Kern, who was photographed in restricted areas outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and is now a candidate in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District; Greg Safsten, a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party; energy industry executive James Lamon, who lost a 2022 Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat; Robert Montgomery, chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee in 2020; Samuel Moorhead, a Republican precinct committee member in Gila County; Nancy Cottle, who in 2020 was the first vice president of the Arizona Federation of Republican Women; Loraine Pellegrino, president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women; and Michael Ward, an osteopathic physician who is married to Kelli Ward.
There was no immediate response to phone messages seeking comment that were left Wednesday with Jacob Hoffman, Kelli Ward, Michael Ward, James Lamon and Tyler Bowyer.
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