by Scott McClallen
Ten days ago, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 16 people with felonies for what she called “the alleged false electors scheme following the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
The charges stem from a Dec. 14, 2020, meeting in the Michigan Republican Party headquarters where Nessel says each defendant signed several certificates claiming they were “duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.”
The falsified certificates were sent to the National Archives and U.S. Senate in what Nessel says is “a coordinated effort to award the state’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing, in place of the candidates actually elected by the people of Michigan.”
Now, those charged are hiring lawyers. Fourteen out of the 16 charged are senior citizens.
Attorney David Kallman is representing William Choate, 72, of Cement City. Kallman said he’s confident his client will be “completely exonerated from this nakedly partisan prosecution.”
On Friday, Kallman Legal Group filed its appearance and jury demand with the court, as well as extensive discovery demands. Kallman requested within 21 days Nessel provide all documents, witnesses, police and medical reports related to the charges.
“Mr. Choate is being wrongfully targeted in this political dispute,” Kallman (pictured above) said in a statement. “The attorney general is weaponizing the legal system to attack ordinary citizens for simply following through on their nominated status as electors.”
In a press release, Kallman Legal argued for a “historical precedent” for alternate slates of electors. The release said the same thing happened in 1960 in Hawaii when the presidential election results were disputed. In that case, it was the Democrats who offered two alternate slates of electors depending on the result of Kennedy’s election challenge.
The 16 defendants are:
- Kathy Berden, 70, of Snover.
- Choate, 72, of Cement City.
- Amy Facchinello, 55, of Grand Blanc.
- Clifford Frost, 75, of Warren.
- Stanley Grot, 71, of Shelby Township.
- John Haggard, 82, of Charlevoix.
- Mary-Ann Henry, 65, of Brighton.
- Timothy King, 56, of Ypsilanti.
- Michele Lundgren, 73, of Detroit.
- Meshawn Maddock, 55, of Milford.
- James Renner, 76, of Lansing.
- Mayra Rodriguez, 64, of Grosse Pointe Farms.
- Rose Rook, 81, of Paw Paw.
- Marian Sheridan, 69, of West Bloomfield.
- Ken Thompson, 68, of Orleans.
- Kent Vanderwood, 69, of Wyoming.
Charges for each are:
- One count of conspiracy to commit forgery, a 14-year felony.
- Two counts of forgery, a 14-year felony.
- One count of conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing, a 14-year felony.
- One count of uttering and publishing, a 14-year felony.
- One count of conspiracy to commit election law forgery, a 5-year felony.
- Two counts of election law forgery, a five-year felony.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi. In 2021, he published a book on technology and privacy. He co-hosts the weekly Michigan in Focus podcast.
Photo “David Kallman” by Kallman Legal Group.
