Two lawyers and an aide to former President Donald Trump are now facing charges in Wisconsin. They are accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election with a bogus voter plot.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced the charges Tuesday against attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and James Troupis, as well as campaign aide Michael Roman.
The three men are charged with conspiracy to commit a crime in the battlefield state.
According to the complaints, Chesebro, 62, Troupis, 62, and Roman, 51, conspired to assemble fake electors and cast votes for the president and vice president in Wisconsin in December 2020. It is alleged that they then worked to send a certificate of those unnamed voters’ votes, which is against the law.
All three men face a prison sentence of up to six years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
“The indictment in this case alleges that the defendants were part of a conspiracy to produce a certificate of purported electoral votes from persons who were not. Wisconsin“duly appointed electors,” Attorney General Kaul said in a statement.
“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to protecting the integrity of our election process,” he added.
At a news conference after the charges were filed, Kaul said the investigation is ongoing. He did not rule out that future charges would be filed against other people in the case, including the fake voters.
Tuesday’s indictment comes as the 2024 presidential election is just five months away.
“Our decisions are based entirely on the facts and the law,” Kaul said. “In this case, I want to note that the defendants themselves are not people who are running for any office.”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to speak in 2022. He said Tuesday the investigation is ongoing after charges were filed against two attorneys and an aide to Trump’s 2020 campaign
In response to Tuesday’s accusations, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers responded in one word: “Good.”
Electors are people appointed to represent the electorate in presidential elections.
Whoever wins the popular vote in each state then gets to determine which electors are sent to the Electoral College. It then meets in December, after the presidential election, to determine the outcome of the race.
President Joe Biden won Wisconsin against Donald Trump in 2020 by just over 20,000 votes.
But Trump continues to falsely claim he won the state as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.
Then-President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin on November 2, 2020
According to the complaint, Chesebro sent two memos, dated Nov. 18 and Dec. 6, to Troupis about the “Trump-Pence voters.” Troupis responded about the December 6 version that he planned to “circulate it around the White House.”
In a separate text according to the complaint, Troupis wrote: “I sent it to the White House this afternoon. The real decision makers.’
The complaint outlines how the unnamed electors met at the Wisconsin Capitol on December 14. Around the time of the meeting, Chesebro sent messages to Troupis and Roman: “WI meeting of the *real* voters has begun!!!” He also sent a photo of the meeting and a video the next day.
Troupis is based in Wisconsin, but Chesebro and Roman are not.
Court records show the three men are all scheduled to appear in Dane County Circuit Court on September 19.
Chesebro and Roman were both indicted along with Trump on racketeering charges in Georgia in a plot to overturn the 2020 election results in that state.
Chesebro reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in October to one felony count of conspiracy to file false documents.
DailyMail.com contacted Chesebro for comment.
Roman pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges in Georgia. He also faces nine felony charges for a false electoral plot in Arizona.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called the allegations in his state “outrageous” in a post on X and accused Democrats of “weaponizing Wisconsin’s judiciary.”