Attorney general calls ruling ‘wrong’ and pledges appeal to Nevada Supreme Court
Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus on Thursday dismissed forgery charges against six Nevada Republicans who submitted a false electoral certificate after the 2020 presidential election, ruling that prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence the defendants intended to defraud.
“The court concludes the evidence is insufficient to support a reasonable inference that defendants acted with the requisite intent to defraud,” Holthus said.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced felony charges against the six Republicans in December 2023, accusing them of submitting a certificate that identified them as Nevada’s legitimate electors and purported to cast the state’s six electoral votes for Trump after Biden won the state.
Holthus had previously dismissed the case in June 2024 on venue grounds. The Nevada Supreme Court reversed that ruling and returned the case to her courtroom. In her second dismissal, Holthus focused on the question of fraudulent intent, pointing to the defendants’ public actions.
Holthus said the six Republicans publicly announced what they were doing, a factor she said undermined the prosecution’s claim that they sought to deceive government officials. She also pointed to evidence identified by the defendants as having been omitted from the grand jury proceedings.
“Even considering the totality of the evidence before the court, including the evidence identified by defendants as having been omitted from the grand jury proceedings, the record does not support a reasonable inference of fraudulent intent,” Holthus said.
She added: “Indeed, the omitted evidence further reinforces the conclusion that defendants acted openly and consistently with their state purpose of preserving ongoing election challenges, rather than with intent to deceive.”
Ford, in a statement to the Reno Gazette Journal, said the ruling was wrong and that his office would appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.
“The district court’s decision is, once again, wrong, and we will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, just as we did when the court first dismissed,” Ford said.
“My office will continue to work to hold these fake electors accountable for their actions, which attempted to undermine our democracy and erode trust in our elections,” Ford said.
The dismissal marks the second time Holthus has thrown out the case, though on different grounds. The question of whether the defendants can be held criminally liable for the false electoral certificate now returns to the Nevada Supreme Court for a second review.