Updated September 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM MST
A Michigan judge has dismissed criminal charges against 15 people who signed false certificates saying Donald Trump won the state's electoral votes in 2020. Trump lost the state and the presidency to Joe Biden.
It's the latest loss in prosecutors' efforts to hold accountable people associated with Trump's attempt to overturn his election loss.
In May, an Arizona judge sent that state's so-called "fake elector" case back to a grand jury. The Nevada case is stuck in a jurisdictional appeal after a court dismissed the case last year. In Georgia, the Fulton County district attorney's office is fighting to keep its prosecution alive after a court ruled that the DA's office should be removed from the case.
And, notably, the federal election interference case against Trump himself was dropped when he was reelected president.
In Michigan, Judge Kristen Simmons dismissed the charges during a court hearing Tuesday, citing a lack of evidence.
"This is a fraud case, and we have to prove intent," the judge said. "And I don't believe there's evidence sufficient to prove intent."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced the charges more than two years ago. Sixteen people were originally indicted, but charges were dropped against one of them in exchange for their cooperation.
As Nessel's office said in a statement in 2023: "These defendants are alleged to have met covertly in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters on December 14th [2020], and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the 'duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan.'"
Some pro-Trump 2020 electors have defended their actions by saying they were merely doing so in case Trump's challenges of the election were successful.
In an appearance with reporters Tuesday, Nessel criticized the judge's ruling and stood by her prosecution.
"The evidence was clear: They lied. They knew they lied," she said of the defendants. "And they tried to steal the votes of millions of Michiganders."
Nessel said her office is "evaluating" a decision about appealing.
Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad said in a statement that the dismissal "is not only a huge win for these electors but also for justice itself."
Michigan Public's Steve Carmody contributed reporting.
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