The Wisconsin Attorney General has filed felony forgery charges against three allies of former President Donald Trump for their involvement in a scheme to submit fake electors in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The charges, filed on Tuesday, target Kenneth Chesebro, a right-wing attorney; Jim Troupis, a former Trump lawyer; and Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official.
This marks the first time Wisconsin has brought charges related to the fake elector plot, joining Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia in pursuing legal action against Trump associates involved in efforts to subvert the election outcome.
The defendants are accused of submitting paperwork falsely claiming that Trump had won Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state. Each faces a felony forgery charge, which carries a potential penalty of up to six years in prison and fines up to $10,000. The three are scheduled to appear in Dane County Circuit Court on September 19.
Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, indicated that further charges might be forthcoming as the investigation continues. “Our approach has been focused on following the facts where they lead,” Kaul said during a news conference.
Chesebro, Troupis, and Roman played significant roles in the fake elector scheme. Chesebro, who had previously cooperated with investigators in various states, allegedly provided false statements regarding his social media usage. This was a key factor in the decision to bring charges against him despite his earlier cooperation.
The complaint details how Chesebro and Troupis orchestrated the plan through a series of memos and communications, instructing pro-Trump electors to meet and submit false electoral certificates. In one message on December 14, 2020, Chesebro celebrated the successful meeting of the “real” electors in Wisconsin, to which Troupis responded with a thumbs-up emoji.
Roman, who has also been charged in the fake elector schemes in Georgia and Arizona, allegedly delivered Wisconsin’s fake elector paperwork to a congressional staffer to be handed to then-Vice President Mike Pence on January 6, 2021.
Wisconsin’s 10 fake electors had previously settled a civil lawsuit by disavowing their attempt to overturn the election, recognizing President Joe Biden’s victory, and pledging not to serve as electors in any future elections involving Trump.
The complaint against the trio also references a tranche of emails and text messages released earlier this year. These documents reveal Chesebro’s continued push for the fake elector plot, even in the absence of successful legal challenges to the election results.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, responded succinctly to the charges with a single word: “Good.” In contrast, Republican Senator Ron Johnson criticized the charges as politically motivated, accusing Democrats of weaponizing the judiciary.
The fake elector scheme is also a central component of a federal indictment against Trump, alleging his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Investigations have consistently found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election, despite Trump’s continued claims to the contrary.
The charges in Wisconsin add to the growing list of legal challenges facing Trump and his allies, highlighting the ongoing repercussions of efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election. As the legal proceedings continue, the case underscores the importance of safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.
