A yearslong legal case against six Nevada Republicans accused of submitting a bogus certificate that falsely declared Donald Trump the winner of the state’s 2020 presidential election has been dismissed by a judge on Thursday, according to NPR. Clark County District Judge Mary Kay Holthus ruled that there was insufficient evidence showing the defendants intended to deceive government officials. The decision deals a major blow to efforts within swing states to prosecute fake electors who sought to keep Trump in the White House following his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
Nevada Judge Dismisses Fake Elector Case Against Republicans
The defendants in the case included The Hill, the chair of the Nevada Republican Party, and Jesse Law, the former chair of the Clark County Republican Party. Indicted in 2023 by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the six individuals had pleaded not guilty to charges relating to forgery and offering a false instrument for filing or record. Following the 2020 election, the group had gathered outside the Nevada Legislature to sign a certificate allocating the state’s six electoral votes to Trump, even though Biden won Nevada by a margin of more than 30,000 votes.
Court Findings and Defense Arguments on Intent
The core of the legal battle centered on the intent behind submitting the certificate. Prosecutors argued that the defendants intended for the document to be mistaken for actual electoral votes that then-Vice President Mike Pence would count on January 6, 2021. Conversely, the defense maintained that the ceremony was an act of political theater
meant to publicize election concerns and preserve rights to challenge official results, rather than an attempt to deceive a government agency.
Judge Holthus agreed with the defense’s position regarding the lack of fraudulent intent, noting that the document could not legally be accepted, filed, registered, or recorded under state or federal law. In her ruling, Holthus wrote: The fact that Defendants openly announced both their actions and their asserted purpose, rather than concealing their conduct or attempting to secretly induce governmental reliance, weighs against a reasonable inference that they acted with fraudulent intent.
Additionally, the judge determined that the state failed to disclose exculpatory evidence to the grand jury.
State Appeal Plans and Broader Legal Landscape
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford criticized the decision and announced intentions to appeal the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court. The District Court’s decision is, once again, wrong, and we will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, just as we did when the court first dismissed our case against these defendants,
Ford said in a statement reported by Abcnews. Ford added that his office will continue working to hold the fake electors accountable.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Richard Wright labeled the planned appeal as hasty and premature, describing the continuation of the legal proceedings as politically motivated. The dismissal in Nevada mirrors similar outcomes in other jurisdictions. Fake elector cases have also been dismissed in Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia, while a federal case charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election was dropped in late 2024. Active legal proceedings regarding fake electors remain ongoing in Wisconsin.
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