Who are the 16 Michigan Republicans charged in alleged 2020 election scheme?

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced criminal charges against 16 Michigan Republicans for allegedly trying to thwart the will of voters in the 2020 presidential election and award the state's Electoral College votes to former President Donald Trump.

Trump lost the election by more than 150,000 votes to President Joe Biden. But Trump embraced election conspiracies and spread lies that the election was stolen from him.

On the same day the legitimate presidential electors met inside the Michigan State Capitol to cast their votes for Biden, Trump's allies in Michigan assembled in the basement of the Michigan GOP headquarters to sign certificates falsely claiming they were the legitimate presidential electors, according to Nessel's office. Those certificates were sent to the U.S. Senate and the National Archives with the intent to overturn the election, Nessel said in a video announcing the charges.

Complaints provided by Nessel's office show each defendant faces eight felony counts each, including forgery-related charges, each punishable by up to 14 years in prison; and election law forgery charges, each punishable by up to five years in prison.

Here's a guide at the 16 individuals facing criminal charges in the alleged election interference scheme.

Criminal charges: Trump's fake electors charged by Michigan AG in alleged 2020 election scheme

Meshawn Maddock

Maddock, 55, of Milford previously served as Michigan GOP co-chair after the 2020 election. She is married to state Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford. They own a bail bonds business.

Before she was chosen to lead the state's Republican Party, she served as its 11th District chair and helped organize buses from Michigan to Washington, D.C., heading Trump's call to supporters to come to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to fight the certification of the election.

The Maddocks spoke at a rally the day before the deadly assault on the Capitol, according to a video from the Right Side Broadcasting Network posted to Facebook and she posted a video of Trump supporters marching toward the Capitol to her Instagram account.

Maddock called herself a "Trump original" in a 2020 interview with the Free Press, noting she supported the former president since his 2015 candidacy. She was a founding board member of the Michigan Conservative Coalition which helped organized protests at the Michigan State Capitol against Gov. Whitmer's efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Before the 2020 presidential election, Maddock called the role of presidential electors "very important" and one she said she takes "very seriously" in an interview with the Free Press. "An elector, to me, is the person who's responsible to make sure our republic survives the pandemic of mental illness that's progressivism," she said.

Kathy Berden

In 2015, the state committee of the Michigan GOP elected Berden, 70, of Snover, as the party's national committeewoman in. Before holding that role, she served as a state committee member and was part of the Michigan delegation to the Republican National Convention three times.

Ahead of the 2020 election, she called the presidential race a "choice between freedom and socialism" in an interview with the Free Press.

The fake certificate of electors lists Berden as "Chairperson, Electoral College of Michigan."

Mayra Rodriguez

Rodriguez, 64, of Grosse Pointe Farms is a Michigan lawyer. Earlier this year, the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission filed a complaint against Rodriguez with the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board recommending disciplinary action against her. The complaint asserts that Rodriguez knew when she signed the fake certificate of electors that she was not a qualified presidential elector and that she did not convene in the Michigan Capitol to certify the election as required by Michigan law.

Rodriguez is the only licensed Michigan lawyer in the group of Trump electors, according to a search of attorneys on the State Bar of Michigan's website.

She was subpoenaed by the U.S. House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. During her deposition, she refused to say whether it was her signature on the document to award Michigan’s Electoral College votes to Trump sent to Congress and the National Archives. She also declined to acknowledge that state election law says that Michigan’s electors of president and vice president are those from the political party that received the most votes in the presidential election.

The fake certificate of electors lists Rodriguez as "Secretary."

Stanley Grot

Stanley Grot, 71, current serves as Shelby Township clerk in Macomb County. He previously served as a Sterling Heights city council member and Macomb County commissioner. Grot acknowledged he signed the certificate promising Michigan's Electoral College votes to Trump, according to a Free Press report.

Grot sued fellow Republicans claiming defamation on social media.

Timothy King

King, 56, of Ypsilanti was the lead plaintiff in a legal effort led by Trump ally Sidney Powell to overturn the 2020 election in Michigan. He is a retired tool and die UAW auto worker. He ran and lost his 2020 bid to serve on the Washtenaw County Commission.

He said in 2020, voters faced a critical choice that year. "I think this election is the most important one we've had since the 1864 election of President Lincoln because we had a divided nation and right now we're divided," King told the Free Press at the time.

John Haggard

Haggard, 82, of Charlevoix is the owner of Haggard's Plumbing and Heating. He's been active in politics for decades. In 1964, Haggard handed out brochures for Barry Goldwater, and in 2016, he served as a Republican elector. He was one of the plaintiffs who brought a lawsuit in the wake of the 2020 election to try to name Trump the winner.

Marian Sheridan

Sheridan, 69, of West Bloomfield currently serves as the Michigan GOP's grassroots vice-chair. She was also a plaintiff in the federal election lawsuit to try to award Michigan's Electoral College votes to Trump. The effort was rejected as an attempt to sow doubt in the election based on conspiracies and resulted in sanctions against the attorneys who defended it.

She has led the Lakes Area Tea Party and is the co-founder of the Michigan Conservative Coalition. She told the Free Press previously that she first became involved with the Republican Party in 2009. In 2020, she trained hundreds of poll challengers to observe the election. "It's really a great thing that we have so many Americans that are so interested in the election process," she said at the time.

William (Hank) Choate

Choate, 72, of Cement City is a dairy farmer. In April 2017, he was one of 14 farmers from across the country who met with Trump at the White House to discuss agricultural issues.

He told the Free Press previously that he did not become involved in Republican Party politics until 2010. "I was seeing my grandchildren were not going to have anywhere near the opportunities for what they wanted to do as young adults as I did back in the late '60s and early '70s," Choate said.

Choate went on to serve as chair of the Jackson County Republican Party for four years and serve as chair of the Michigan GOP's 7th District.

Amy Facchinello

Facchinello, 55, of Grand Blanc is also new to party politics. She told the Free Press in 2020 that Trump motivated her to get involved. "I heard what he said he was going to do and I started seeing it all get put into action, and I was like totally on board with it," she said. In 2018, she became a GOP precinct delegate and joined the executive board of the Genesse County Republican Party.

Facchinello was elected to serve as a board member of Grand Blanc Community Schools in 2020.

Clifford Frost

Frost, 75, of Warren worked hard to re-elect Trump in 2020. At the time, he hoped Trump would succeed so he could cast one of Michigan's Electoral College votes. "It's a privilege I look forward to," he said at the time.

Frost ran for office 2020, vying to represent part of Macomb County in the Michigan House, but he lost his primary.

Mari-Ann Henry

A previous webpage for the Greater Oakland Republican Club showed Henry. 65, of Brighton, was involved with the group.

Michele Lundgren

Lundgren, 73, of Detroit was served with a subpoena and interviewed by federal agents last year. She told the Free Press that she met with agents from the FBI, Department of Justice and Inspector General for two hours last summer. When asked about the fake certificate of electors, Lundgren told the Free Press that she signed a blank piece of paper with lines for each of the signatures.

"We were wrongly persuaded to come to Lansing and sign a blank piece of paper," she previously the Free Press. She could not identify who persuaded her to sign the document. "Who and what pulled this s--- out of the bag and tried to throw it at the wall?" Lundgren said.

Lundgren ran as a Republican in 2022 seeking to represent part of Detroit in the Michigan House of Representatives. She lost her election to incumbent state Rep. Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck.

James Renner

Renner, 76, of Lansing is one of the two names that appear on the fake certificate of electors who was not originally nominated by the state's Republican Party to serve as an elector in the event of a Trump victory.

He was selected to replace Gerald Wall, according to an affidavit Nessel's office provided in support of its criminal charges against the Trump electors. Wall — who was nominated to serve as an elector in the event of a Trump victory in Michigan — did not sign the certificate.

Ken Thompson

Thompson, 68, of Orleans is the second individual whose name appears on the fake certificate of electors who was not originally nominated by the state's Republican Party to serve as an elector in the event of a Trump victory.

He was selected to replace former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, according to an affidavit Nessel's office provided in support of its criminal charges against the Trump electors. Land — who was nominated to serve as an elector in the event of a Trump victory in Michigan — did not sign the certificate.

Rose Rook

Rook, 81, of Paw Paw has held various local leadership positions with the Republican Party. She used to be a Democrat but she previously told the Free Press that she left the party because she said the party left her values.

She said she became involved with the Republican Party in 2016. Before the 2020 election she said was looking forward to prospect of casting Michigan's Electoral College votes for Trump. "It's just a great honor," she said. Asked about her support for Trump, she said, "He's just the law and order president and I'm very impressed with that."

Kent Vanderwood

Vanderwood, 69, of Wyoming currently serves as mayor of the city of Wyoming. He was elected to lead the city in 2022. He previously served as the Michigan GOP's 2nd District chair.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The 16 Michigan Republicans charged in alleged 2020 election plot