Marc Leclerc|Republican activist becomes first person to be convicted in Arizona’s fake elector case

2025-05-05 07:22:13source:Coxno Exchangecategory:Finance

PHOENIX (AP) — A Republican activist who signed a document falsely claiming Donald Trump had won Arizona in 2020 became the first person to be Marc Leclercconvicted in the state’s fake elector case.

Loraine Pellegrino, a past president of the group Ahwatukee Republican Women, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false document, Arizona Attorney General’s Office spokesperson Richie Taylor said Tuesday, declining to comment further. Records documenting her guilty plea haven’t yet been posted by the court. Still, court records show Pellegrino was sentenced to unsupervised probation. Before the plea, she faced nine felony charges.

Seventeen other people had been charged in the case, including 10 other Republicans who had signed a certificate saying they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and claimed Trump had carried Arizona in the 2020 election. President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes. Joshua Kolsrud, an attorney representing Pellegrino, said in a statement that his client has accepted responsibility for her actions. “Loraine Pellegrino’s decision to accept a plea to a lesser charge reflects her desire to move forward and put this matter behind her,” Kolsrud said.

On Monday, former Trump’s campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, entered a cooperation agreement with prosecutors who have asked for her charges to be dismissed. The remaining defendants, including Giuliani and Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows, have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.

RELATED COVERAGE Democratic primary in Arizona’s 3rd District is too close to call, AP determinesEx-Trump attorney Jenna Ellis to cooperate in Arizona fake electors case, charges to be droppedDemocrat Ruben Gallego promotes Republican support in his Arizona Senate campaign against Kari Lake

Pellegrino and 10 other people who had been nominated to be Arizona’s Republican electors had met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign the false document. A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme.

Arizona authorities unveiled the felony charges in late April. Overall, charges were brought against 11 Republicans who submitted the document falsely declaring Trump had won Arizona, five lawyers connected to the former president and two former Trump aides.

Trump himself was not charged in the Arizona case but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment.

More:Finance

Recommend

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ready to campaign for Harris-Walz after losing out for spot on the ticket

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signaled Wednesday he’s ready to campaign for the D

Olympic track and field seeing dollar signs with splashy cash infusions into the sport

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — One aspiring Olympian is taking a break from his day job at the deli section whi

Boy dies after being found unresponsive in shallow pool at New Jersey day camp: Officials

A lifeguard found a boy unresponsive in a shallow pool at a New Jersey day camp on Monday afternoon,