A Nevada judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against six false electors who declared former President Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus ruled that the state filed the lawsuit in the wrong jurisdiction, the state Attorney General’s Office confirmed to NBC News.
A spokesman for the office said the state’s top prosecutor “will immediately file an appeal.”
The judge’s decision came after a grand jury indicted six Republicans in December on two felony counts, including filing a forged document and using a forged document, as part of an investigation into the 2020 presidential election.
Among those indicted are Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald and Vice Chairman and National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenried. Both defendants have previously appeared before a criminal grand jury investigating the Capitol attack.
McDonald’s attorney and Douglas County Republican Party official Eileen Rice told NBC News they believe the judge made the right decision because the alleged conduct did not occur in Clark County.
“We are pleased that the charges against our clients have been dismissed and are confident that the Nevada Supreme Court will uphold the dismissal,” attorneys Monty Levy and Richard Wright said.
Wright argued in his defense motion on Friday that Las Vegas is an inappropriate venue for the trial.
Fake electoral rolls for the former president have also been created, and lawsuits have been filed in other battleground states, including Michigan and Georgia.
Earlier this month, three Trump allies, including campaign manager Mike Roman and lawyers Kenneth Chesbro and James Troupis, were indicted in Wisconsin on charges of involvement in a fake electoral scheme to keep Trump in office.
A grand jury in Arizona also indicted former President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other Trump aides in April, along with a string of electoral fraud allegations, in connection with an investigation into allegations that the former president and his allies tried to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory in the state.
The Trump campaign also helped create false certificates in New Mexico and Pennsylvania, but no electoral fraudsters in those states have been charged. The bill added language providing that the bogus electors from both states be required to submit certificates in case they were later found to be duly chosen and eligible electors.
