Trump allies hit with charges for fake electors scheme in Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin - Three allies of former president Donald Trump are now facing criminal charges in Wisconsin for their alleged role in a fake electors scheme that aimed to overturn the state's 2020 election results.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, state Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony forgery charges in Dane County Circuit Court against three individuals for their alleged attempts to overturn the election by submitting a false slate of electors to help Trump win the race.
Those charged included former Dane County Judge Jim Troupis, former Trump aide Mike Roman, and attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who is considered the mastermind behind the fake electors scheme.
They each are facing up to six years in prison, and fines up to $10,000.
After Trump lost the general election to Joe Biden in 2020 – losing the state of Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes – Chesebro and others enlisted ten fake Republican electors to wrongfully certify Trump as the winner.
The filings were then sent to Congress, the National Archives, a federal judge, and then-Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette.
In December 2023, the ten fake electors, who are currently not facing charges, settled a civil lawsuit where they were required to acknowledge their actions were part of an attempt to overturn an election.
The depth of Donald Trump's sprawling fake electors scheme
Wisconsin is now part of a growing list of US states bringing charges against Trump allies involved in the scheme, which also includes Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada.
Both Chesebro and Roman were among the 18 individuals, alongside Trump, indicted for similar efforts to subvert the results in Georgia.
While Chesebro pled guilty to one count of conspiracy after accepting a plea deal, Roman's case is ongoing, as he has pled not guilty.
Roman is also facing nine charges in Arizona, which include conspiracy, fraud, and forgery.
Chesebro, Troupis, and Roman are due in Wisconsin court on September 19.
The charges come days after Trump became the first-ever US president to be convicted of a crime in his hush money trial.
Cover photo: JIM WATSON / AFP