Loraine Pellegrino is the first of 17 defendants to be sentenced in the Arizona fake voter case, following her guilty plea to filing a false document. Initially facing nine counts, the Republican admitted guilt to just one reduced charge, according to ABC News.
One of former Pres. Donald Trump's so-called "fake electors," Loraine Pellegrino, pleaded guilty to a single "reduced charge" in the Arizona 2020 election case, according to the online docket. https://t.co/MrfusYOMXz
— ABC News (@ABC) August 7, 2024
It is important to note that, in this case, seventeen people were arrested. Among them were Republicans who falsely claimed to be duly elected electors, falsely claiming that Donald Trump had won the 2020 Arizona election.
With this guilty plea, Pellegrino’s lawyer asserted that his client had taken responsibility for her actions and was now eager to move on.
The charges against her emerged after the events of December 14, 2020, when the accused and other Republican primary voters in Phoenix affixed their signatures to a spurious document proclaiming that Trump had won in Arizona.
The Arizona Republican Party posted a video of the event on its social networks, and the fraudulent document was sent to Congress and the National Archives. The document was not officially recognized, and in fact, Joe Biden won Arizona by a margin of 10,457 votes.
Let’s recall that in April, authorities in Arizona initiated criminal proceedings against 11 Republicans, 5 lawyers associated with Trump, and 2 former advisors to the president. Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy.
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis recently entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors on August 6 in the case. In trade for her cooperation, Ellis is asking for the charges against her to be dropped.
Similar fake voter-related criminal charges have also been filed in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin.