Rep. Angela Rigas spoke out today in opposition to multiple felony charges issued by Attorney General Dana Nessel against 16 Republicans who allegedly met in late 2020 to certify documents representing themselves as duly elected presidential electors. 

The charges include forgery, conspiracy, election interference, and falsifying official documents. Maximum penalties could total over 10 years in prison for each offense.

“Contentious, razor’s-edge elections are not new for this country,” Rigas said. “They happened in 2000 with Bush and Gore and in the 1960s with Kennedy and Nixon. During those elections, it was not uncommon for voting districts with recounts or uncertified votes to establish multiple sets of electors to be prepared for any eventuality. This happened with Kennedy and Nixon during their election in 1961 which saw a very similar situation happen with the electors in Hawaii. Were those electors sent to prison? No. Were they threatened and accused of being political terrorists? No. Close elections and disputed electors are not new. What is new is using state resources to track down and attack political rivals once the dust is settled and power is determined. That to me is a horrifying precedent to set. That’s politics, not justice.”

Nessel has so far rejected these types of historical comparisons and seems determined to make a strong statement in her prosecution of these Republicans; a statement that Rigas fundamentally disagrees with.

“Attorney General Nessel wants her own version of the J6 commissions in Washington. She wants to expand the scope of her investigations and her prosecutorial power to the absolute limits. The goal is not to pursue justice. It is to intimidate those with different ideals” Rigas said. “But disagreeing with the government cannot and should not be punishable in this country. Signing a document saying you disagree shouldn’t be punishable either. Otherwise, we risk forgetting how this country started in the first place.”

Rep. Rigas can be reached at [email protected] or (517) 373-1403.