Dispute ends with an attempt to dismiss the case of the “false electors”

PHOENIX — After 13 hours of proceedings over three days, a court hearing in the so-called “Fake Electors” case ended on Wednesday.

Soon, the decision on whether to drop charges against at least a dozen defendants in Maricopa County will be in the hands of Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen.

Sixteen people are each charged with nine felony counts, including forgery, fraud and conspiracy, and are accused of participating in an organized attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.

Defense attorneys argued in court on Monday and Tuesday that the charges were politically motivated and said the alleged actions were political statements.

“The basis for the indictment presented to the grand jury was his political and protected activities and speech,” Tyler Bower's defense attorney Stephen Binhak said in court on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Arizona Attorney General Nick Klingerman, head of the criminal division, had an hour and a half on Wednesday to address the defense's arguments. He said the case crossed the line between protected speech and fraud.

“This indictment pursues nothing more than the enforcement of the law against those accused of committing fraud, forgery and conspiracy to change the outcome of a lawful election because they were unhappy with the results,” Klingerman said in court Wednesday. “And like all criminal prosecutions, it is aimed at punishing past conduct, educating the public and deterring future attempts to do the same. If left unchecked, it can happen again.”

In response to the conclusion of the trial on Wednesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a recorded statement saying the prosecution was not politically motivated and the allegations did not reflect the defendants' First Amendment rights.

“The law draws a clear line between free speech and illegal conduct, and we believe the evidence shows that the defendants crossed that line. I am confident this court will see through the defendants' baseless arguments and reject these attempts to distort the facts of this case,” Mayes said in the video statement released Wednesday.

During the three-day hearing, Cohen heard arguments on two motions to dismiss the charges and a motion by Mayes for an order protecting the jurors' identities.

Cohen is giving defense attorneys until next Friday, Sept. 6, to file additional briefs in response to the state's argument, which was filed Wednesday. Cohen said he will begin accepting the motions for consideration on Monday, Sept. 9.

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