Nevada Accuses Republican Party Leaders in 2020 Fake Elector Scheme

A grand jury in Nevada has indicted top leaders of the state’s Republican Party on charges of forging and submitting fraudulent documents in the fake electoral scheme to sway Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. in the 2020 presidential election, the state’s attorney general announced Wednesday.

The six Republicans indicted, who claimed to be voters for Donald J. Trump, included state party chairman Michael J. McDonald. Also included Jim Hindle, the deputy chairman of the state party; Jim DeGraffenreid, a national committee member, Jesse Law, the chairman of the Clark County Republican Party, home of Las Vegas; and Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice, executive directors of Douglas County Republican Party.

“When efforts to undermine faith in our democracy began following the 2020 elections, I made it clear that I would do everything in my power to defend the institutions of our nation and our state,” said Aaron D. Ford, Nevada’s attorney general and a Democrat, said in a statement. “We cannot allow attacks on democracy to go unchallenged. Today’s charges are the result of a long and thorough investigation, and as we continue this prosecution, I am confident that our justice system will deliver justice.”

The charges are the latest in a nationwide effort by officials to prosecute those who falsely portrayed themselves as voters in an effort to overturn Trump’s 2020 defeat. Michigan’s attorney general in July charged 16 Republicans in a similar effort in the state.