Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced criminal charges against 16 people who signed certificates falsely declaring that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, part of a nationwide scheme to upend the results in states that the former president lost to Joe Biden. The outcomes of presidential elections rest on slates of electors who decide their votes based on the outcome of their states’ popular vote. As then-President Trump sought a spurious legal effort to reject the outcome, his allies arranged slates of “alternate” electors in several states to cast their votes for him, despite his loss. Ms Nessel’s announcement arrived the same day that the former president said he has received a target letter from federal prosecutors indicating that he is the subject of an investigation into his efforts to overturn election results, suggesting that he could imminently be facing charges. The criminal charges in Michigan against the so-called “fake” electors appear to be the first. They each face eight felony counts, including election law forgery and conspiracy. Her office also has not ruled out charges against other potential defendants, she said. Those 16 people met in the basement of the state’s Republican Party headquarters and signed certificates falsely claiming that they were “the duly elected and qualified electors for president and vice president of the United States of America for the state of Michigan,” Ms Nessel said in prepared remarks on 18 July. “That was a lie,” she said. “They weren’t the duly elected and qualified electors, and each of the defendants knew it.” Those electors then attempted to deliver those documents to the state Senate and to the US Senate, where Vice President Mike Pence presided over the congressional certification of electoral college votes, and where Mr Trump and his allies allegedly pressured him to use those false slates of electors to overturn the election’s outcome and keep Mr Trump in office. “This plan – to reject the will of the voters and undermine democracy – was fraudulent and legally baseless,” Ms Nessel said. “The false electors’ actions undermine the public’s faith in the integrity of our election, and not only violate the spirt of the laws enshrining and defending our democracy, but, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan and peaceably transfer power in America.” Ms Nessel, an elected Democratic official, dismissed arguments that the prosecutions are politically motivated. “But where there is overwhelming evidence of guilt, in respect to multiple crimes, the most political act I can engage in as a prosecutor is to take no action at all,” she said. Ms Nessel’s office had previously referred the cases to the US Department of Justice but indicated earlier this year that she was reopening the “parallel investigation” into election crimes in the state, citing “clear evidence” for a prosecution. Prosecutors in Georgia have also indicated that fake electors from that state may also face criminal charges, as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis pursues a separate investigation into the former president’s efforts to reject election results in that state. “Every serious challenge to the election had been denied, dismissed, or otherwise rejected by the time the false electors convened. There was no legitimate legal avenue or plausible use of such a document or an alternative slate of electors,” Ms Nessel said in a statement accompanying the announcement of charges. “There was only the desperate effort of these defendants, who we have charged with deliberately attempting to interfere with and overturn our free and fair election process, and along with it, the will of millions of Michigan voters,” she added. “That the effort failed and democracy prevailed does not erase the crimes of those who enacted the false electors plot.” Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has focused his office’s attention in several states, including interviews with the office of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who provided a tranche of documents that included communications between the state’s election officials and Mr Trump’s former lawyers and members of his campaign as the former president’s allies targeted the critical battleground state. Mr Smith is investigating an array of schemes pursued by Mr Trump and his allies to reject 2020 results, including the fake electors plot. This is a developing story Read More Trump news – live: Trump could be indicted for a third time as soon as this week in Jan 6 probe Trump says he is about to be arrested again after letter confirms he’s target of Jan 6 grand jury

A woman has gone viral on TikTok for sharing a hidden room she found in her house. On October 23, TikTok user @bigbrah1 uploaded a video of her opening the door to the secret room she found in her house. The clip shows the walls painted in pink, green, and white. There were also butterfly drawings, hand prints, and paintings that looked as though they were drawn by children. Whilst you may already consider the above description to be creepy, what really freaked viewers out was the words "Love Shack" written on the wall. Many expressed their eerie feelings in the comments. One user wrote: "Absolute weirdest vibes... love shack? The feet?" "Is this adorable or terrifying?" Asked another. @bigbrah1 what do i do ? #horror#horrortok#hiddenroom#hiddenroominmyhouse#halloween#scary#90s#analoghorror#fyp#scarytiktoks Many others told the user to alert the authorities to see if there was something worth investigating. "The way I was smiling then immediately my face dropped and I became physically ill" a user commented, sharing the sentiments of most users. In an update video, the user shared that she had converted it into a storage room and thrown out the drawings that were found in the room. She did, however, share that that room could have only been for children, by attempting to stand up in the room and showing that she had to hunch. However, there has since been no further updates or explanations about the room. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Ecuador used to be one of Latin America's most peaceful nations

Snapchat users are once again frustrated with an update to the social media platform. This

Save 33%: As of July 17, you can grab a factory reconditioned (aka basically new)

Authorities are raising the alarm about a social media challenge in which people eat extremely spicy chips and attempt to avoid eating or drinking anything for as long as possible

Logan Paul and Nina Agdal just got engaged, but Danis has attacked her previous relationships and shared several indecent images of her online

(Reuters) -Microsoft Corp is bringing the powerful language-producing models from OpenAI to U.S. federal agencies using its Azure cloud service,

Netflix has acquired the rights to anime 'Yakitori: Soldiers of Misfortune' and is adapting it into an exclusive show

After Alabama struggled to beat USF, Nick Saban is changing QBs once again. Will this change be the thing that finally gets the Tide offense started?

The third episode of ‘Hijack’ features an unexpected revelation that could change the entire course of events on the plane

A 9-year-old girl was fatally shot in front of her Chicago home by her neighbor, who allegedly fired the gun at her before her father ran toward the shooter and tackled him to the ground, according to a legal document CNN obtained Tuesday.