State Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) today released the following statement:

“Yesterday, Attorney General Dana Nessel released a 110-page political manifesto attempting to rewrite history and smear sixteen Michigan citizens whose only ‘crime’ was exercising their First Amendment rights. This report is nothing more than a desperate, taxpayer-funded tantrum from an AG whose politically motivated prosecution collapsed in court, exactly as was presented when I held my Weaponization of State Government hearing last year and invited these same electors to testify.

“The facts are simple: a district court judge reviewed the evidence and refused to bind these individuals over for trial. The charges were dismissed. Even Nessel now admits she will not appeal. Yet instead of accepting the court’s ruling with grace, she has chosen to publish a 110-page attack document filled with inflammatory language like ‘false slate, fraudulent and criminal conspiracy.’ This is not a legal analysis, it is a misuse of the people’s funds.

“During my Weaponization of State Government hearing, these electors sat before the Michigan Legislature and described years of harassment, selective prosecution, and the chilling effect of having their lives upended simply for asking questions about 2020 and for signing a document. Their testimony exposed what Nessel’s report now confirms: this was never about forgery or ‘uttering and publishing.’

“The court saw through it. The judge correctly noted the lack of criminal intent, correctly recognized that forgery statutes do not apply here, and correctly identified these actions as protected petitioning of the government. Nessel’s own report acknowledges the First Amendment concerns — then dismisses them. That tells you everything you need to know about her commitment to the Constitution.

“These Michiganders were not ‘conspiring to steal an election.’ They were preparing a lawful contingency in the face of widespread, legitimate concerns about election integrity. Mind you, these concerns were shared by millions of Americans. The electors harmed no one. They changed no votes. They simply refused to be silenced. For that, Dana Nessel spent years and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars trying to put them in prison.

“The American people have already delivered their verdict, twice! Donald Trump won in 2024, and the federal case against him was dismissed. Now a Michigan court has dismissed this case too. The only people still clinging to 2020 are partisan Democrats like Dana Nessel, who cannot accept that their lawfare campaign has failed.

“I stand with every one of these electors. I will continue fighting to expose and end the weaponization of government in Michigan. The people of this state deserve better than an Attorney General who treats the justice system like a political weapon.”