A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges on Tuesday against a group of residents charged with illegally attempting to certify a victory by Donald Trump in the 2020 election – a blow to prosecutorial efforts to hold Trump’s allies accountable for seeking to overturn the results.

District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons ruled that the 15 defendants were legally exercising their constitutional rights when they attempted to present themselves as the state’s proper electors in the tumultuous days following the November 2020 presidential election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.

Ruling from the bench, Simmons said prosecutors had failed to prove intent to defraud the state. The defendants “sincerely believed, for some reason, that there were some serious irregularities with the election

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