Kenneth Chesebro among 3 charged in Wisconsin over 2020 elector plot

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) charged Trump campaign aide Michael Roman and attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and James Troupis with one felony count of forgery each, according to online court records. Copies of the criminal complaints were not immediately available.

If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. They are slated to make initial court appearances in September, and their cases will probably stretch past this fall’s election unless they reach plea deals.

Troupis, Chesebro and an attorney for Roman did not immediately respond to messages. Roman’s attorney, Kurt Altman, said he and Roman just learned of the charges and are reviewing them.

After narrowly losing the 2020 election in Wisconsin, Trump sought recounts in the state’s two most Democratic areas and used that process to try to throw out hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots. The state Supreme Court rejected his efforts on Dec. 14, 2020, the day presidential electors around the country were to meet.

An hour after that ruling, 10 Republicans gathered in the state Capitol to sign paperwork claiming they were the state’s true electors. Trump allies held similar meetings in six other states and then sent official-looking paperwork claiming to be their states’ true electors to Congress, the National Archives and others.

Trump’s supporters used those filings to falsely claim the outcome of the 2020 election was in doubt and try to prevent Congress from certifying the results. Their efforts culminated with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Troupis, Chesebro and Roman helped develop the elector strategy, according to public records. Troupis served a brief stint as a judge and has long been a go-to lawyer for Wisconsin Republicans; he was Trump’s lead attorney for the recount and legal challenge in Wisconsin.

Chesebro helped devise the overall plan and documented the Wisconsin meeting on his cellphone, according to photos and records.

Chesebro was charged in Georgia and as part of a deal pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiring to file false documents. Roman has been charged in Georgia and Arizona.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in Phoenix contributed to this report.