LAS VEGAS — A group of six Republicans from Nevada has been recharged with submitting a false certificate to Congress, which claimed that Donald Trump was the winner of the heated 2020 election in the state.
Nevada’s Attorney General Aaron Ford provided updates on Thursday regarding the revival of the state’s case against the individuals involved. He filed a new complaint this week in Carson City, the state’s capital, accusing the defendants of “uttering a forged instrument,” which is classified as a felony. The earlier charges were dismissed earlier this year after a judge determined that Clark County, home to Las Vegas and Nevada’s most populated area, was not the correct venue for the case.
Ford, representing the Democratic Party, stated that the new case was initiated as a preventative measure to protect against the expiration of the statute of limitations while the Nevada Supreme Court reviews his appeal regarding the previous ruling. He emphasized, “While we disagree with the finding of improper venue and will continue to seek to overturn it, we are preserving our legal rights in order to ensure that these fake electors do not escape justice.” Ford added that the actions carried out by the fake electors in 2020 directly violated Nevada’s criminal laws, undermining the integrity of a free and fair election and sowing doubt in the democratic process.
Officials indicated that this incident was part of a broader effort across seven critical states aimed at ensuring Trump remained in office after his defeat to Joe Biden. Similar criminal cases have emerged in states like Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona. In the 2020 election, Trump lost to Biden in Nevada by a margin exceeding 30,000 votes. An inquiry conducted by then-Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, uncovered no substantial evidence of widespread voter fraud within the state.
The individuals facing the new charges include state GOP chair Michael McDonald, Clark County GOP chair Jesse Law, national party committee member Jim DeGraffenreid, national and Douglas County committee member Shawn Meehan, Storey County clerk Jim Hindle, and Eileen Rice, a party member from the Lake Tahoe region.
In a statement to the press, McDonald’s attorney, Richard Wright, characterized the new charges as a strategic political maneuver by Ford, who also announced his intention to run for governor in 2026. “We will withhold further comment and address the issues in court,” Wright stated, representing all six defendants.
The legal representatives for the other defendants have not immediately responded to requests for comments, although they had previously contended that Ford had improperly presented the case before a grand jury located in the Democratic-leaning area of Las Vegas instead of a northern Nevada city where the alleged offenses reportedly took place.
