Michigan Attorney General ends prosecution of those charged in 2020 election scheme

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she has ended efforts to seek criminal prosecution over a false certificate of votes regarding Michigan's results in the 2020 presidential election. 

This follows up on a district judge's decision last September to dismiss criminal charges against 15 people who each faced multiple counts of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. 

Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, and the overall national election results during the 2020 election cycle. But there were criminal investigations in multiple states, including Michigan, over efforts by some people to present Donald Trump rather than Joe Biden as the election winner that year. Mr. Trump did win in the 2024 presidential election and is currently serving his second term in office. 

U.S. presidential race results are presented by the states' representatives, known as electors, then certified through the Electoral College. 

The actions leading to the charges in Michigan involved a document signed in December 2020 that falsely listed the names of people claiming to be the state's representatives to the Electoral College. The matter was referred to federal authorities, with no charges resulting; then Nessel pursued a state investigation. 

There were originally 16 Michigan residents charged in the case; a cooperation agreement then led to the dismissal of charges against one. 

"My office did not reach this decision lightly, though after a thorough assessment of the resources and time required to pursue justice in these cases, the pace and difficulty with which various courts have dealt with criminal violations of election law, and our likelihood of success given stringent appellate review standards, I have decided not to pursue an appeal," Nessel said in her announcement and report issued Monday. 

"The President at the center of this conspiracy has returned to power, elections across the country are scheduled to commence in November, and most of the conspirators involved in the false electors plot nationally have never been brought to justice for their acts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election," she continued. 

The above video originally aired on Sept. 9, 2025.