Judge dismisses forgery charges in presidential election

(The Center Square) - A Las Vegas judge has dismissed forgery charges against six Nevadans who allegedly signed and submitted fraudulent electoral certificates claiming President Donald Trump won the state's close race against Joe Biden in 2020.

The six defendants are all Republicans.

This story has been updated.

According to District Judge Mary Kay Holthus, state prosecutors failed to establish essential elements of forgery and intent to defraud. Holthus also noted the defendants acted openly to preserve legal challenges rather than trick officials, while adding that submitted documents were never accepted or considered by authorities as genuine. Prosecutors were also criticized by the judge for withholding evidence from the grand jury.

In 2024, the same judge dismissed the case over a lack of jurisdiction in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford disagreed with that decision as well as this week’s ruling.

“We will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, just as we did when the court first dismissed our case against these defendants,” the Democratic attorney general told The Center Square Friday via email. “That dismissal ignored established authority making Las Vegas a proper venue and was unanimously reversed by the Nevada Supreme Court.”

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks during the United States’ sixth civil society consultation in Geneva at the United Nations, Oct. 16, 2023. Photo: Eric Bridiers / United States Mission Geneva via Flickr / United States Government Work

Ford, who's running against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial race, added that his office will “continue to work to hold these fake electors accountable” for their actions, actions Ford said attempted to “undermine our democracy and erode trust in our elections.”

Kate Sosland, spokesperson for the Nevada State Democratic Party, told The Center Square in an email, “Caving to Donald Trump every chance he gets, Joe Lombardo vetoed legislation twice that would have established felony criminal penalties for fake electors who attempt to steal Nevada’s electoral votes. Lombardo has a long history of supporting these fake electors, cozying up to conspiracy theorists, and endorsing multiple election deniers for elected office, including Trump himself.”

Biden won 50.06% of the state's popular vote in 2020 with 703,486 ballots, according to the Nevada Secretary of State's Office. Trump got 47.67% of the vote with 669,890 ballots. Biden was declared the winner of the national race.

This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com.