Fake electors still donating to Trump despite some facing criminal charges in scheme to overturn 2020 election

A number of fake electors who attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election have donated toDonald Trump as recently as this year, financial records show.

Fake electors have continued to donate thousands to Trump, his running mate JD Vance and other Republicans despite some of them facing criminal charges for their role in the 2020 election.

One includes former co-chair of the Michigan Republican party, Meshawn Maddock, who has given more than $1,800 to Trump and allied fundraising groups this year, records on the Federal Election Commission database show.

Maddock is one of 16 fake electors criminally charged by the Democratic Michigan attorney general, Dana Nessel. The 16 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,” Nessel said in prepared remarks last year. Maddock has pleaded not guilty.

Records also show Tyler Bowyer, who is being prosecuted in Arizona for his role as a fake elector, donated $645 to Trump this year. Bowyer, who pleads not guilty to the charges, is the chief operating officer of Turning Point USA, a non-profit advocating for conservative values in schools.

One of the largest donations to Trump this year was $25,000 from David Hanna, a fake elector from Georgia who was not criminally charged. Another fake elector in Georgia, Daryl Moody, donated $2,900 to Vance in 2022.

Michael Beckel, research director at election watchdog group Issue One, told The Guardian it was “incredibly rare for politicians to accept campaign contributions from people under indictment”.

He told the newspaper: