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“I was betrayed, and I was used.”Guy, 63, is the Antrim County Clerk in northwest Michigan. But in the first hours following the 2020 election, results posted unofficially had Joe Biden improbably winning the county. It simply read: “Things don’t look right.”In this tiny Michigan county, election integrity is now itself on the ballot. And after the 2020 election, I felt that that horrible error that I owned was my legacy.”Guy acknowledges she messed up “big time” in 2020. Facts don’t matter to these people.”And so, in this tiny Michigan county, election integrity is now itself on the ballot.

Persons: — Sheryl Guy, ”, “, ” Guy, Shery Guy, Donald Trump, Joe Biden improbably, Guy, we’ve, Trump, ” Trump, Biden, ” Guy —, Republican who’d, –, Sheryl Guy, Victoria Bishop, Guy couldn’t, Bishop, I’ve, Bishop’s, ” Tom Stillings, Bishop —, ” Stillings Organizations: NBC, States, Trump, Republican, Victoria, Republican Party Locations: BELLAIRE, Mich, Antrim, Michigan, Antrim County, Traverse City, U.S

☆ Election officials in battleground Michigan grapple with sweeping voting changes and a presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The state’s highly decentralized system of administering voting means that “Michigan has 1,500 elections every big election day,” said Kyle Whitney, the city clerk of Marquette in the state’s Upper Peninsula. ‘We’re all beginners’The new rules in Michigan flow from a constitutional amendment that state voters approved by a wide margin in 2022 that dramatically expanded access to voting. Miller was elected to succeed the previous, term-limited clerk and is overseeing her first presidential election. Deborah Pellow, the part-time clerk of rural Tilden Township in the Upper Peninsula, is also overseeing her first presidential election this year. The next big test for Michigan comes in August, when voters cast primary ballots for congressional, state and local offices.

Persons: Michael Siegrist, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, tabulators, Biden, ”, Kyle Whitney, ” Whitney, Brennan, ‘, “, ” Lori Miller, Miller, “ It’s, Deborah Pellow, Pellow, Adam Wit, –, Shira Roza, Carlos Osorio, Angela Benander, Joycelyn Benson, Jacqueline Beaudry, ” Benander, ‘ We’re Organizations: CNN, Ferrari, Republican, Trump, Brennan Center for Justice, Wolverine State, Biden’s, Michigan’s, Democratic, Michigan Association of Municipal, Michigan Locations: Michigan, Canton Township, Antrim County, Marquette, Wolverine, Livonia, Detroit, Wayne County, Tilden Township, Canton, Harrison, Warren , Michigan, Ann Arbor City, Tilden

☆ Three defendants acquitted of plotting to kidnap Michigan governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks to the media following a 'get out the vote' rally at Michigan State University, the night before the midterm election, in East Lansing, Michigan, U.S., November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 15 (Reuters) - The last three men to face charges in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were acquitted on Friday in a trial in state court on terrorism and firearms charges. An Antrim County jury found the men not guilty after deliberating for about a day following a two-week trial. The three men were the last of more than a dozen men to face federal and state charges in the kidnapping conspiracy. Both men were convicted of domestic terrorism, conspiracy to kidnap and other charges.

Persons: Gretchen Whitmer, Evelyn Hockstein, Eric Molitor, William, Michael Null, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr, Brendan O'Brien, Howard Goller Organizations: Michigan State University, REUTERS, Prosecutors, Democratic, Thomson Locations: East Lansing , Michigan, U.S, Antrim County, Chicago

William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor are the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court. They were not among the main group of six people charged with a kidnapping conspiracy in federal court. Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, acknowledged the road trips but told jurors they didn't really understand the purpose. William Null said he was regularly exposed to “crazy talk" by pot-puffing plot leaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. and didn't think it was too serious until conversations turned to explosives. But during tense cross-examination, prosecutor William Rollstin reminded him of his anti-government views on social media and disgust for Whitmer, especially her COVID-19 restrictions.

Persons: Michigan's, William Null, Michael Null, Eric Molitor, they're, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr, William Rollstin, Whitmer, ” Rollstin, Null, Dan Chappel, Donald Trump, Trump, Ed White Organizations: FBI, Army Locations: Antrim County, Molitor, Bellaire , Michigan, Detroit, Dublin , Ohio

Those charges center around a voting system breach in Coffee County, Georgia, a rural, Republican district that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020. Willis’ indictment describes the breach, and Powell’s alleged involvement, as central to the broader conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Powell has also been identified by CNN as one of Trump’s un-indicted co-conspirators listed in Smith’s federal election indictment. New details about Smith’s ongoing investigation indicate federal prosecutors are scrutinizing a series of voting breaches following the 2020 election that state investigators have been probing for more than a year. Network of operativesIn addition, special counsel prosecutors have also heard from other witnesses about efforts to breach voting equipment in other states.

Persons: Jack Smith, indicting Donald Trump, Smith, Joe Biden, Sidney Powell, Powell’s, Powell, Fani Willis, Willis ’, Smith’s, Donald Trump, Al Drago, Biden, ”, Hugo Chavez, Bernie Kerik, Kerik, Tim Parlatore, Parlatore, Mike Ryan, Bill Bachenberg, Ryan, Bachenberg, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman –, Jocelyn Benson, Benson, Stefanie Lambert, Nalio Chery, “, ” Benson, Lambert, Trump Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump, CNN, Biden, Republican, Republican National Committee, Bloomberg, Getty, The Coalition, Good Governance, Systems, Network, FBI, Smith’s, Michigan Michigan, Reuters, Pennsylvania, American, Pennsylvania Senate Locations: Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Atlanta, Coffee County , Georgia, Washington , DC, Republic, Coffee, Antrim County , Michigan, Coffee County, Detroit , Michigan, Dieu, Antrim County, Fulton County , Pennsylvania, Fulton County

Antrim Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreAug 23(Reuters) - A trial for the last three men to face charges in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer began on Wednesday in state court, where they are accused of terrorism and firearms crimes. The Michigan men face up to 20 years in prison if they are convicted of the charges. The three defendants are the last of more than a dozen men to face federal and state charges in the kidnapping conspiracy. The group of men were accused of taking part in an elaborate plot to abduct the governor from her vacation home, then put her on trial for treason. Both men were convicted of domestic terrorism, conspiracy to kidnap and other crimes in a federal trial.

Persons: William Null, Eric Molitor, Michael Null, Shawn Fix, Gretchen Whitmer, William, Charles Hamlyn, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr, Brendan O'Brien, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Antrim County Sheriff's, Prosecutors, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Antrim County, Michigan, Antrim, Antrim County , Michigan, Chicago

☆ Trial Opens for Men Accused of Aiding Plot to Kidnap Michigan’s Governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Mitch Smith | More About Mitch Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Unlike the men convicted in federal court, they are not charged with planning to participate in the kidnapping itself. They suggested the men were minor players who did not know much about the plans to harm Ms. Whitmer, were egged on by F.B.I. And it’s fair to keep that in your mind when you review all of the evidence.”But prosecutors said the defendants were aiding the leaders of the plot, Barry Croft and Adam Fox. Federal jurors found that Mr. Croft and Mr. Fox had planned to kidnap Ms. Whitmer and blow up a bridge leading to her home in order to disrupt the police response. Mr. Croft is serving a nearly 20-year prison sentence, and Mr. Fox is serving a 16-year sentence.

Persons: . Molitor, Whitmer, Kristyna, William Null, Barry Croft, Adam Fox, Croft, Fox, Ms Organizations: “ Locations: Antrim County, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Mich

☆ Trump operatives considered using breached voting data to decertify Georgia's Senate runoff in 2021, text messages show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Zachary Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It’s unclear what if any evidence he has in his possession related to the Coffee County breach. Penrose and Logan were also named in a state-level criminal investigation in Michigan alleging they participated in a conspiracy to seize voting machines there. A local election official helped them gain access to sensitive voting data which they downloaded onto a portable hard drive. Bundren was part of the team enlisted by Trump’s lawyers to find evidence of widespread voter fraud after the 2020 election. Bundren helped oversee the multi-state push to access voting machines on behalf of the Trump legal team, according to several documents obtained by CNN.

☆ Wisconsin man pleads guilty to role in plot to kidnap Michigan governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 15 (Reuters) - A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a reduced charge for his role in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, handing another victory to prosecutors who have viewed the scheme as domestic terrorism. Michigan prosecutors accused Brian Higgins, 54, of aiding the conspiracy by surveilling the Democratic governor's vacation home. As part of a plea deal, he admitted in Antrim County court that he attempted to provide material support for terrorism and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Two other men, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pleaded guilty and cooperated with federal prosecutors. This month, Attorney General Nessel said she herself was among potential targets of a man who federal prosecutors say threatened to kill employees of the state of Michigan who are Jewish.

☆ The Michigan lawyer pushing Trump’s voter-fraud fictions in U.S. court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Lambert started in her home state of Michigan, joining four lawsuits on behalf of Trump supporters. As Trump zeroed in on vote-rigging allegations in Michigan, Lambert emailed the White House, according to her July 2021 video interview with two right-wing websites. Cotton and Penrose also were involved in examining breached voting machines in Michigan for DePerno and Lambert, according to the Michigan attorney general investigation. In the process, the commissioners were accused of flouting a court order by allowing a forensics company to inspect county voting equipment. In August 2021, a federal judge reprimanded Lambert, Powell and seven other lawyers who joined the failed lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan’s vote after Trump’s 2020 defeat.

“We cannot move on from the 2020 election,” he said at a debate in April during the GOP primary. Marchant has said he would not have certified the 2020 results in the state, which Biden won. Republican Tudor Dixon — who has said the 2020 election was stolen — is running for governor against Democratic incumbent Gretchen Whitmer. Matthew DePerno, who is running for attorney general against Democratic incumbent Dana Nessel, has also repeatedly espoused debunked conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election results in Michigan. DePerno has also argued that any Michigan resident should have the right to demand a vote audit of the state’s election results.

Efforts to investigate the 2020 election and institute changes to the state’s election procedures — the promises that helped propel DePerno onto the political map and won him former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. In Arizona, GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake has repeatedly called the 2020 election “rigged” and “stolen” during the primary only to spend most of the general election talking about immigration, education, the economy and crime. After trailing in earlier polling, both Lake and Masters appeared neck-and-neck with their opponents in the campaign’s final days. Doug Mastriano, the GOP nominee who was outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 and whose campaign paid to bus people to the pro-Trump protest that proceeded the riot, has kept the 2020 election near the forefront of his campaign. “It’s people like her,” Whitmer said of Dixon, who has baselessly raised doubts about the 2020 election results, “who are the greatest threat to our democracy right now.”Dixon has defended her use of such rhetoric.

☆ Special Report: Voting-system firms battle right-wing rage against the machines
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

Across the country, election officials have received hundreds of threats or menacing messages that cite debunked conspiracies involving the machines. Some have alleged without evidence that Dominion machines were rigged in plots involving Chinese communists, Venezuelan socialists or Antifa, the loosely organized U.S. anti-fascist movement. Among those calling for Louisiana to ditch Dominion machines is the state’s Republican National Committeewoman, Lenar Whitney. Authorities in the heavily Republican state acknowledge that their aging Dominion machines, most of them bought in 2005, are outdated. Dominion machines remain in use in 14 of Nevada’s 17 counties.

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In the aftermath of the 2020 election, local election officials became frequent targets of supporters of former President Donald Trump who supported his false claims of election fraud. Election officials also said that the courts could inject chaos into the process if results are contested for weeks following the vote. Droves of election workers throughout Georgia quit their positions following the 2020 election. And in Pennsylvania, nearly 50 top election officials have left their post within the past two years. “Election workers and election officials leave or stop coming in, more errors can occur as a result, which in turn can fuel disinformation,” he said.

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