Part 2 of 7: No Mens Rea, No Crime, How Nevada’s Electors Were Just Doing Their Job

This is Part 2 of our seven-part series, Nevada’s Witch Hunt: How Six Patriots Are Being Crucified for Defending Democracy. Yesterday, we gave you the 30,000-foot view of six Nevadans facing felony charges for casting contingent electoral votes for Trump in 2020. Today, we zoom in on their mindset, peeling back the onion to reveal a prosecution so baseless it could star in a comedy special, if only it weren’t ruining lives.

Let’s set the scene: December 14, 2020. Nevada’s election results, certified for Biden, are under fire with lawsuits alleging irregularities. The six electors, Michael McDonald and company, aren’t wild-eyed radicals; they’re Republicans following Trump campaign guidance, believing litigation could flip the state. They sign alternate certificates, not to sneakily steal the election, but to keep Trump’s options open, just like Hawaii’s 1960 electors did for Kennedy. Those guys? Praised. These guys? Facing jail time. Welcome to 2025’s upside-down world.

Legal Argument for Dismissal: Lack of Criminal Intent (Mens Rea): Nevada’s charges, offering a false instrument (NRS 239.330) and uttering a forged one (NRS 205.110), require proving the electors knowingly intended to defraud. Spoiler: they didn’t. Their certificates were openly submitted as contingent, not official, votes. Defense attorneys argue withheld grand jury evidence, like emails showing the electors’ good-faith belief in their legality, would’ve sunk the case. They relied on the Hawaii precedent and campaign advice, not a sinister plot. No deception, no victim, no crime. Ford’s stretching these statutes like yoga instructors stretch hamstrings; it’s painful and unnatural.

Ford’s own testimony in May 2023 admitted Nevada law doesn’t clearly address this conduct, yet he charged them anyway. Why? To score political points, obviously. The electors’ legal bills are piling up, their lives on hold, all because a Democrat AG wants to flex. This isn’t justice; it’s a vendetta.

Hang tight, because Part 3 will expose how these charges trample the First Amendment, turning political speech into a felony. You’ll be shocked at how far Ford’s willing to go.

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