9 defendants enter not-guilty pleas in Michigan fake elector scheme
Not guilty pleas in alleged Michigan fake elector plot entered by 9 defendants
Kathleen Berden, 70, Amy Facchinello, 55, Clifford Frost, 75, John Haggard, 82, Timothy King, 56, Michele Lundgren, 73, James Renner, 76, Mayra Rodriguez, 64, and Kenneth Thompson, 68, all appeared in the 54th District court in Lansing Thursday afternoon.
LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Nine of the 16 individuals charged in a fake elector scheme allegedly orchestrated as a means to cast Michigan's electoral count for Donald Trump during the 2020 election were arraigned Thursday.
Kathleen Berden, 70, Amy Facchinello, 55, Clifford Frost, 75, John Haggard, 82, Timothy King, 56, Michele Lundgren, 73, James Renner, 76, Mayra Rodriguez, 64, and Kenneth Thompson, 68, all appeared in the 54th District court in Lansing Thursday afternoon.
They all pled not guilty to charges of conspiracy and forgery.
The names of the defendants were listed on the court docket.
Meshawn Maddock, another individual charged in the case by Attorney General Dana Nessel, is also expected in court for a motion hearing. Each defendant has been charged with eight counts ranging from conspiracy to forgery as well as uttering and publishing.
The recent indictment of Trump in the scheme further revealed how allies of the former president intended to have supporters cast electoral ballots for him instead of Joe Biden, who won Michigan and several other states.
A previous version of this story misstated William Choate as among those being arraigned. He's scheduled for a probable cause conference Thursday, not an arraignment.