WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) A group of so-called fake electors who tried to get Michigan’s 2020 electoral votes directed to President Donald Trump had their charges dismissed Tuesday.

District Court Judge Simmons said she saw no intent to commit fraud in the defendants’ actions. Whether they were “right, wrong or indifferent,” they “seriously believed” there were problems with the election, the judge said.

“I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress,” Simmons said.

The group had been accused of meeting in December 2020 to sign a document falsely stating that they were Michigan’s electors and directing the state’s votes to former President Donald Trump. That document was sent to the U.S. Senate and the National Archives.

The Michigan attorney general argued that it was an attempt to unlawfully send Michigan’s electoral votes to Trump when they, in fact, went to former President Joe Biden. (Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.)

In 2023, the defendants were charged with a number of counts in connection with the scheme, including fraud, forgery and election law forgery.

One man accused in the Michigan case had the charges against him dropped after he agreed to cooperate with the state attorney general’s office in October 2023. The other 15 defendants pleaded not guilty and have maintained that their actions were not illegal.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, called Simmons’ ruling “disappointing” and a “very wrong decision” during a virtual news conference.

“It’s been claimed that these charges were vindictive or political, and I will say this: Nothing can be further from the truth,” Nessel said. “As prosecutors, we have a moral and ethical obligation to bring charges when there is evidence of a crime. And despite today’s very wrong decision, the evidence is clear and overwhelming. And to have not have brought these charges in the face of these facts because it would have been controversial or met with political accusations would really actually be the most political thing a prosecutor could do.”

Nessel said she believed evidence would support criminal charges if the case had been brought before a jury.

“They knew they were not electors,” Nessel said of the group. “They knew Donald Trump lost, but then they lied anyway. And that is a crime.”

Nessel said her office is considering appealing the decision.

Kent Vanderwood, the mayor of Wyoming, Michigan, and also one of the defendants who signed the document, shared a statement with Nexstar’s WOOD thanking Judge Simmons for a “thorough and thoughtful approach to this matter.”

“This entire episode has now been unmasked for what it always was: a partisan ploy to score political points,” Vanderwood stated. “I love my country, my State, and my City. We won’t always agree on every policy, but the use of state resources to harass law-abiding citizens needs to stop.”

Vanderwood added that he would continue to focus on serving the people of Wyoming.

“I have [a] lot left to do in the time God gives me, and I look forward to investing in my family and friends, as well as serving my community with energy and vigor in my remaining months in office,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.