(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The 16 Republicans controversially prosecuted by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are free after a Democrat-appointed judge dismissed all charges on Tuesday.
Ingham County District Judge Kristen Simmons, appointed by Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, slammed prosecutors for pursuing the cases despite a lack of evidence of criminal intent.
“This is a fraud case, and we have to prove intent. And I don’t believe there is evidence sufficient to prove intent,” Simmons wrote, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Her ruling followed a series of preliminary hearings before trial. Simmons’s rebuke targeted Nessel’s cases from 2023 against individuals who served as alternate electors in Michigan for the 2020 presidential election.
Each individual faced a staggering 85-year prison sentence—virtually a life sentence comparable to those charged with murder.
The defendants had faced:
- One count of Conspiracy to Commit Forgery (a 14-year felony)
- Two counts of Forgery (14-year felony)
- One count of Conspiracy to Commit Uttering and Publishing (14-year felony)
- One count of Uttering and Publishing (14-year felony)
- One count of Conspiracy to Commit Election Law Forgery (5-year felony)
- Two counts of Election Law Forgery (5-year felony)
The case is part of a wave of lawfare targeting Trump allies after the 2020 election.
Trump himself faced criminal charges from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia and a federal indictment from Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Similar charges were filed in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin by Democratic attorneys general Kris Mayes, Aaron Ford and Josh Paul.
