MADISON, Wis. — Three key figures involved in the 2020 Trump presidential campaign’s fake elector scheme in Wisconsin pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple felony forgery charges in Dane County Circuit Court. The defendants are Jim Troupis, a former judge who served as Trump’s Wisconsin campaign attorney; Mike Roman, the campaign’s director of election day operations; and Ken Chesebro, a former Trump legal advisor.
Troupis appeared in person in Madison, while Roman and Chesebro participated via Zoom. The case marks one of the few ongoing legal efforts tied to the contested 2020 election results, as similar efforts in battleground states such as Michigan and Georgia have stalled or been dismissed. A federal case involving Trump and efforts to overturn election results was dropped last year in Wisconsin, and a related case in Nevada remains active.
The charges stem from a plan in which Republican electors in several key states submitted documents falsely certifying that Trump won their states despite President Joe Biden’s certified victories. This scheme originated in Wisconsin, where prosecutors allege the three defendants misled the 10 Republican electors who actually cast ballots for Trump by not disclosing that their forged certificates would be sent to then-Vice President Mike Pence and presented to Congress as if Trump had won the state.
Prosecutors say a majority of the electors told investigators they did not believe their signatures would be used without a court ruling affirming Trump’s victory, and that they did not consent to their names being used to support false claims of victory. The trio faces 11 felony forgery counts, each carrying potential penalties of up to six years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
The defendants maintain their actions were lawful attempts to preserve legal options in the event of a court decision favoring Trump. They deny committing any crime. In pretrial motions filed Tuesday, Troupis and Roman requested moving the trial from Dane County to neighboring Jefferson County, citing concerns that widespread negative publicity could compromise the impartiality of the jury pool. Trump won Jefferson County by 15 percentage points in 2020 but lost Dane County by a significant margin.
Additionally, Troupis and Roman argued that one of the felony counts should be dismissed based on a pardon issued by former President Trump for any federal offenses related to the fake elector activities. They contend that because the casting of electoral votes is governed by federal law, the pardon exempts them from state prosecution on that count. Chesebro also received a similar pardon from Trump. The presiding judge indicated plans to set a schedule for hearing these motions.