Michigan 'fake electors' charged in election scheme plead not guilty during arraignments
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All 16 of the so-called fake electors charged for a scheme to falsely give Michigan's electoral votes to former President Donald Trump instead of President Joe Biden in 2020 have now pleaded not guilty to felony charges, following another slate of arraignments Thursday morning.
District 54-A Magistrate Judge Laura Millmore oversaw arraignment hearings on Thursday for 9 of the 16 individuals charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in the case. The group, which includes former and current state and national Republican officials, faces felony charges 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.
Those arraigned Thursday were:
John Haggard, of Charlevoix
Kathy Berden, who now lives in Tennessee
Michele Lundgren, of Detroit
Mayra Rodriguez, of Grosse Pointe Farms
Amy Facchinello, of Grand Blanc
Clifford Frost, of Warren
James Renner, of Lansing
Ken Thompson, of Orleans
Timothy King, of Ypsilanti
Kurt Krause, an attorney representing Haggard, told Millmore he believed "the probability of conviction is low."
Arraignment hearings are typically straightforward affairs — a magistrate judge explains the charges facing defendants and the rights they have in a criminal proceeding. During Thursday's hearings, which were streamed on YouTube, Millmore set personal recognizance bonds of $1,000 for the nine defendants appearing Thursday.
This type of bond does not have to be paid unless a defendant violates one of their bond conditions. Millmore set restrictions on gun and ammunition possession for the group but said she did not believe any of the individuals posed a flight risk.
More: Federal judge dismisses Michigan lawsuit to 'rerun' 2020 election
Others charged in the fake elector scheme, including former Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock and Wyoming Mayor Kent Vanderwood, previously pleaded not guilty at prior hearings, according to court records. Another individual charged in the case who previously pleaded not guilty, William "Hank" Choate, did not appear for a probable cause conference in front of District Judge Kristen Simmons scheduled for Thursday. The other defendants — Stanley Grot, Mari-Ann Henry, Rose Rook and Marian Sheridan — had already been arraigned.
Choate's attorney, David Kallman, said there was a miscommunication between the parties and he thought Choate did not need to appear.
Probable cause hearings and preliminary exams have been scheduled for some of the individuals, including a slate of probable cause hearings set for Aug. 18, in front of Simmons.
Trump allies in Michigan signed documents attempting to give the state's electoral votes to the former president instead of Biden. That slate was eventually transmitted to Congress and the National Archives as if Trump had won, although the state's electoral votes were awarded to Biden.
These individuals had attempted to gain access to the Michigan Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, to cast votes for Trump, but were denied entry by Michigan State Police.
In the 2020 presidential election, Biden won Michigan by about 3% of the total vote, or about 154,000 votes. Despite this, Trump and his allies have repeatedly spread false information that Michigan's vote was stolen or somehow fraudulent. Numerous audits of the election in Michigan have rejected these claims, and a slate of lawsuits challenging the election have been similarly dismissed.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: All Michigan 'fake electors' plead not guilty in election scheme