In a significant development on June 21, 2024, Judge Mary Kay Holthus of the Clark County District Court in Nevada dismissed charges against six Republicans who falsely declared Donald Trump as the winner of the state's 2020 presidential election. The defendants included Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald and prominent party leaders from Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe areas. The judge determined that state prosecutors had chosen the wrong venue to file these charges.
The indictment against these individuals was a result of their submission of certificates to Congress falsely declaring Trump as the winner in Nevada. However, Judge Holthus ruled that Clark County was not an appropriate jurisdiction for this case. The defense attorneys had argued that Carson City or Douglas County would be more suitable venues since the fake elector documents were originally mailed from Douglas County and the false signing ceremony took place in Carson City.
The defendants, who faced felony charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument, had been indicted in December 2023. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford had stated at the time that he would pursue this prosecution to ensure that attacks on democracy would not go unchallenged.
Nevada is one of seven presidential battleground states where slates of fake electors falsely certified Trump as the winner in 2020. Other states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Nevada may once again be a battleground state as Trump campaigned there earlier in June 2024.
Criminal charges have been brought in Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona regarding similar cases of fake electors. The defendants' attorneys argued that the statute of limitations had expired and they could not be re-filed in Carson City or Douglas County due to this limitation.
This dismissal marks the first time a case related to Trump's efforts to submit a false slate of electors has been dismissed.