Former Michigan GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno and former state Rep. Daire Rendon were charged with violating Michigan election law Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court, according to the court’s docket.
The charges they face appear to stem from a special prosecutor’s investigation into an alleged conspiracy to breach voting machines orchestrated by allies of former President Donald Trump who fought the results of the 2020 election.
Oakland County Circuit Court’s docket did not indicate charges filed against any of the other individuals referred to the special prosecutor for investigation although pro-Trump attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila indicated last week that she was a target in the election probe.
DePerno and Rendon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The charges mark the second high-profile prosecution stemming from the actions Trump allies took in the wake of the 2020 election. Attorney General Dana Nessel last month charged a group of 16 Republicans accused of trying to overturn the last presidential election with a phony certificate pledging the state’s Electoral College votes to Trump.
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The charges against DePerno and Rendon come after an Oakland County judge ruled that Michigan election law prohibits the “undue possession” of voting machines not authorized by the Secretary of State − the chief elections officer for the state − or a court order.
The investigation into a voting machine breach began when the Michigan Secretary of State asked Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office and Michigan State Police to investigate third-party access to voting equipment used in the 2020 election.
After conducting a preliminary review, Nessel’s office sought the appointment of a special prosecutor to consider criminal charges because she was campaigning at the time against DePerno, one of the individuals accused of orchestrating a plot to access voting machines.
Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson was selected to consider possible charges last fall.
A grand jury was convened in the matter in March, according to a court opinion and order from Oakland County Circuit Court denying a request from Junttila to stop the court from weighing in on the key election law on voting machine access at the heart of the criminal probe.
Hilson did not immediately respond to an email sent from the Free Press Tuesday afternoon.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.
