Michigan
Exams conclude for final 3 defendants charged in 2020 Michigan fake elector scheme • Michigan Advance
Exams wrapped up Wednesday for the final three people charged with submitting false electoral votes for former President Donald Trump in 2020.
The three defendants, Stanley Grot, Timothy King and Kent Vandwerwood, had their cases back in court this week in front of Ingham County District Judge Kristen Simmons, who will decide whether there is enough evidence against those charged in the case to send them on to trial in circuit court.
Grot, King and Vanderwood were among 16 people charged last year by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office with several felonies, accused of fraudulently submitting fake electoral votes for former President Donald Trump to the U.S. Senate and National Archives.
Each defendant faces eight counts including charges of forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, uttering and publishing, conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing, election law forgery and conspiracy to commit election law forgery. The forgery-related charges each carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, while the election law charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
16 Michigan Republicans charged with felonies in 2020 fake elector scheme
A 16th defendant, James Renner, had his charges dropped as part of a cooperation agreement with the Attorney General’s Office, in exchange for testifying on behalf of the prosecution.
Renner was on the stand Tuesday and Wednesday, recalling the circumstances that led to he and the 15 defendants meeting on Dec. 14, 2020, at the Michigan Republican Party headquarters in Lansing. At that meeting, prosecutors say they signed documents identifying themselves as the rightful electors of Michigan, and then attempted to cast the state’s electoral votes for former President Donald Trump.
That was despite the fact that President Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and a Democratic panel of electors were the rightful group to submit the state’s electoral votes. But conspiracies over election fraud, spearheaded by Trump, led many in the state of Michigan to question and deny the integrity of the 2020 election. Trump continues to make the false claims as he campaigns for a second term.
As he testified in December, Renner said there was never any discussion to the group that the documents were, in fact, illegal, but instead that should the election be overturned and Trump be determined to have won the 2020 presidential election, the paperwork would ensure that the appropriate partisan electors would be counted and Michigan could submit its votes for Trump.
Renner was one of two last-minute replacements for original elector candidates Terri Lynn Land, a former secretary of state, and Gerald Wall, neither of whom attended the Dec. 14, 2020, gathering.
Renner testified that after signing the document, the group later walked it over to the Capitol building to try and deliver it to the state Senate, but were denied entry as the legal Electoral College was meeting to cast their votes for Biden. A video of that encounter was played in court and confirmed by Renner as authentic. At the time of the attempted delivery, the lawful Democratic electors were gathered inside and casting their ballots as prescribed by law.
Renner also testified to the presence of Ian Northon, who he said he had first noticed joining the group as they walked to the Capitol. Northon is an attorney who was identified by former Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) to the Jan. 6 committee as one of those pressuring him on behalf of the Trump campaign to illegally appoint fake electors.
Defense attorneys worked to portray their clients as having been misled by others leading the effort, such as Northon, but also Kenneth Chesebro, the former Trump attorney who has admitted to orchestrating a multi-state fake elector plot to present fake elector documents in favor of a Trump presidency, and who pleaded guilty in October 2023 to a felony count in Georgia as part of that plot.
He is also an unindicted co-conspirator in the Michigan case, along with Trump, and several others, including Trump lawyers Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani.
Also testifying was Howard Shock, a special agent investigator with the Michigan Department of Attorney General, who conducted the investigation that led to the charges. He previously revealed that Chesebro had been cooperating with their investigation, including turning over an email that contained a copy of a false certificate that the defendants later signed.
Defense attorneys in all three sets of hearings have argued that their clients believed they were filling out the document as an alternate slate of electors, and not as the duly sworn electors required by law to cast their votes for the winner of Michigan’s popular vote, which was Biden.
At one point, Grot’s attorney, Derek Wilczynski, asked Shock if there was any law that he was aware of that said that the Republican electors were not allowed to cast their votes for President Trump and Vice President Pence even though the Democratic electors were legally empowered to do so as Biden had won the popular vote.
“So what I found was there was election law that lays out how the party that receives the popular vote, casts the (electoral) votes, but nothing in the law that I found that says the Republican Party can’t cast their votes,” said Shock.
On redirect, Assistant Attorney General LaDonna Logan had Shock confirm that the document the defendants all signed affirmed that as required by Michigan’s faithful electors provision, MCL 168.47, they were casting their votes for Trump and Pence as the duly sworn electors, which they were not.
Shock was also asked by Vanderwood’s attorney Brian Lennons whether there was a witness or a document that would confirm his client ever reviewed any documents, altered or not, by Kenneth Chesebro or anyone else from the Donald Trump campaign.
“Just the one with his signature on it,” replied Shock.
Simmons initially decided in January to split up the docket into two groups, with preliminary exams concluding in April for the first six defendants, which included Michigan GOP National Committeewoman Kathleen Berden, former Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, Amy Facchinello, John Haggard, Mari-Ann Henry and Michele Lundgren.
A second group — Rose Rook, Clifford Frost, Marian Sheridan, Kenneth Thompson, William Choate and Mayra Rodriguez — had their exams conclude in June.
Grot, King and Vandwerwood, had their cases adjourned to later dates for various reasons, and were eventually scheduled together to be held this week.

At the conclusion of Wednesday’s hearing, Wilczynski requested that the defense attorneys receive transcripts of all the hearings before they filed briefs against binding over their clients for trial.
Simmons, as she had to previous requests for transcripts, rejected the request as well as a follow-up motion by Wilczynski that another hearing be held once the transcripts were available.
“I’m not inclined to carry this matter over any further, because this matter should have been wrapped up a while ago. Remember, I separated this into two factions, not three, and so this was because three of you all failed to comply with the other court dates. And so I’m not going to set this out an additional time,” she said.
It’s not known how long Simmons will take to render her decision, although prosecution briefs are expected within the next 30 days, with defense attorneys having at least 30 days after that to respond.
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Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.
Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.
Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.
Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.
Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.
The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.
Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.
Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.
Up next
Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.
Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.
___
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Michigan
Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.
The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.
The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.
The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.
Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.
The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.
The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.
This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.
The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.
On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.
The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.
West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.
On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.
Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”
On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.
“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.
Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.
Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.
Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.
He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.
Michigan
Legal experts question University of Michigan’s role after charges against former HC Sherrone Moore
WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – Former Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore appeared in court Friday on charges of stalking, home invasion, and breaking and entering, just days after being fired from his position.
The 39-year-old coach, who has no prior criminal history, was terminated by the university on Wednesday following an investigation that uncovered evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
According to prosecutors, the charges stem from an incident that occurred after the victim, a University of Michigan staff member, ended her relationship with Moore on Monday (Dec. 8).
Following the breakup, Moore allegedly made numerous unwanted calls and texts to the victim.
The situation escalated on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2025, when Moore allegedly forced his way into the victim’s Pittsfield Township apartment.
Prosecutors say he grabbed kitchen utensils and threatened to take his own life, allegedly telling the victim, “My blood is on your hands.”
“The totality of the behavior is highly threatening and highly intimidating. She was terrorized, your honor,” a prosecutor told the court during Friday’s arraignment.
Defense attorney Joseph Simon pushed back on prosecutors’ claims that Moore could be a threat to public safety.
“My client’s 39 years old, with zero prior criminal history, zero prior contact with the criminal justice system in any fashion,” Simon stated.
Attorney Todd Flood, who practices both criminal defense and civil litigation, said the fallout within the university could continue depending on when the organization was first alerted about the relationship and how university athletic officials first responded.
“What did they know, when did they know it, and what did they do about it when they found out? Those are going to be the three major questions,” Flood said.
“The university could possibly have some culpability there, that they didn’t put a stop to this,” noted Flood, adding that the victim may have grounds to pursue action against both the university and Moore.
Flood said the stalking charge against Moore likely stems from a documented pattern of harassment.
“When there is a position where he is harassing, either via text messages, harassing via telephone calls, social media content, or showing up at a place where he doesn’t belong,” Flood said. “Those stalking charges are ones where you can show that pattern of conduct.”
“He’s ultimately going to probably plead this case out, under some sort of either misdemeanor, or something that gives probation,” Flood said.
Moore posted his $25,000 bond Friday.
As part of his bond conditions, he must wear a GPS tether, undergo mental health treatment, and have no contact with the victim.
He is scheduled to appear in court in person on Jan. 22.
–> Jim Harbaugh talks Sherrone Moore’s firing, arrest after former Michigan football understudy posts bond
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