Eleven Republicans who presented a document in Congress falsely claiming that Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in Arizona are now facing charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery. Arizona becomes the fourth state to bring charges against “fake electors.”
The eleven individuals appointed to be Republican electors in Arizona met in Phoenix on December 14, 2020, to sign a certificate stating they were “duly and lawfully elected and qualified electors” and asserting that Mr. Trump had won the state’s elections.
A video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The certificate was later sent to Congress and the National Archives but was not considered. Lawsuits have also been filed against seven others, whose names will be made public once they are officially notified.
Mr. Biden won the elections in Arizona by over 10,000 votes. Of the eight lawsuits challenging Mr. Biden’s victory in the state, one was filed by the 11 Republicans who later signed the certificate declaring Mr. Trump the winner.
Their lawsuit asked a judge to overturn the certification of the result that gave Democrat Biden the victory in Arizona and to block the state from sending the documents to the Electoral College.
County Judge Diane Humetewa dismissed the Republicans’ lawsuit, arguing that it lacked legal basis, they had waited too long to raise their issue, and they had “failed to provide the court with evidence supporting their extraordinary claims.”
Several days after the dismissal of the lawsuit, the 11 Republicans participated in signing the certificate. The Arizona lawsuits follow similar ones filed against fake electors in other states, including Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico.