INGHAM COUNTY, Mich. — One of the 16 Michiganders charged in the fake elector plot linked to the 2020 election appeared in court for the first time Friday.
Wyoming Mayor Kent Vanderwood was one of 16 people charged on July 18 for allegedly coordinating as fake electors to give the state's electoral votes to former President Donald Trump in 2020 over Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in the state by over 150,000 votes.
He faces the following charges:
- 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 5-year felony
During the arraignment, Magistrate Laura Millmore asked Vanderwood if he understood the charges and maximum penalties, to which he replied, "Yes, your honor."
The magistrate scheduled two additional hearings: A probable cause conference on Aug. 18 and a preliminary exam hearing on Aug. 24.
The Wyoming mayor is confident Michigan's Attorney General cannot prove election fraud charges against him, according to the attorney representing him.
“Mr. Vanderwood is a lifelong community servant who has tirelessly dedicated himself to the various causes he supports in West Michigan and beyond. He has served various faith-based nonprofits and ministries in Michigan and throughout the country helping them to raise money to expand their impact and outreach. He is a man of integrity," Brian Lennon, who is representing Vanderwood, said in a statement.
“Further, Mayor Vanderwood will not resign or voluntarily recuse himself from the important and completely unrelated work he is required to perform as the duly-elected Mayor of the City of Wyoming. He looks forward to his vindication in a court of law in Ingham County.”
Vanderwood won election to his seat in August of 2022.
A total of 16 Michiganders were charged:
- Kathy Berden, 70, of Snover
- William (Hank) 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
Notable people from the group include the former Van Buren County Chair, Rose Rook, and former Michigan GOP Chair, Meshawn Maddock.
The Michigan Republican Party made clear their view that the charges could potentially be politically motivated.
"AG Dana Nessel's recent charge of forgery and conspiracy against 16 alternative electors in Michigan has sparked valid concerns regarding the possible misuse of power by her office," the party said in a statement. "It is crucial to recognize that despite being identified as a liberal, this AG constantly displays authoritarian tendencies and ambitions."
It is alleged that the defendants met secretly in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020, and signed multiple certificates saying they were the “duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.”
Nessel says that the alleged false electors plotted to "reject the will of the voters and undermine democracy" by casting the state's electoral votes for President Donald Trump despite him losing the popular vote in the state by over 150,000 votes.
The Michigan Office of the Attorney General intends to prove that the defendants knowingly attempted to conspire to defraud the 2020 election.
In a statement, Nessel said that "These defendants may have believed the now long-debunked myths of vote tampering or ballot dumps. They may have felt compelled to follow the call to action from a President they held fealty to. They may have even genuinely believed that this was their patriotic duty. But none of those reasons or feelings provide legal justification to violate the law and upend our constitution and our nation’s traditions of representative government, self-determination, and a government by the people."
The documents were then allegedly sent to the United States Senate and National Archives in an attempt to award the electoral votes from Michigan to the candidate of their choosing.
“The evidence will demonstrate there was no legal authority for the false electors to purport to act as ‘duly elected presidential electors’ and execute the false electoral documents,” Nessel continued.
“Every serious challenge to the election had been denied, dismissed, or otherwise rejected by the time the false electors convened. There was no legitimate legal avenue or plausible use of such a document or an alternative slate of electors. There was only the desperate effort of these defendants, who we have charged with deliberately attempting to interfere with and overturn our free and fair election process, and along with it, the will of millions of Michigan voters. That the effort failed and democracy prevailed does not erase the crimes of those who enacted the false electors plot.”
You can read the charging documents here.
You can read the full statement from the attorney representing Vanderwood here:
“Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel alleges that our client, Kent Vanderwood, and 15 others, signed and filed an alternative Certificate of Votes ‘with the intent to defraud’ the National Archives, the President of the U.S. Senate and others after the tumultuous and then-contested 2020 Presidential election,” said Brian Lennon, attorney for Mr. Vanderwood. “Based on the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, the prosecution’s theory is completely off base.
“The prosecution cannot prove an ‘intent to defraud’ or conspiracy to do the same. Just because AG Nessel has charged eight different offenses does not make any of the charges, or the case as a whole, any better. In fact, Mr. Vanderwood had no intent to defraud anyone or any organization when he signed the Certificate of Votes of the 2020 Electors from Michigan during the time when lawsuits challenging the 2020 presidential election were pending in Michigan. After we have reviewed the government’s discovery, we fully expect that the weakness of the prosecution’s case will begin to be exposed at the preliminary hearing, and in the end, Mr. Vanderwood will be fully vindicated.
“Mr. Vanderwood is a lifelong community servant who has tirelessly dedicated himself to the various causes he supports in West Michigan and beyond. He has served various faith-based nonprofits and ministries in Michigan and throughout the country helping them to raise money to expand their impact and outreach. He is a man of integrity.
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