Former Michigan GOP attorney general nominee is charged in voting machine breach

The most recent Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general has been charged as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to seize voting machines.

Matthew DePerno, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel in the 2022 election, has been charged with undue possession of a voting machine, willfully damaging a voting machine and conspiracy, according to the special prosecutor investigating the case.

Updated August 1, 2023 at 4:36 PM ET

DePerno, an attorney, had been endorsed in that 2022 contest by former President Donald Trump, and he rose to prominence after pushing Trump's baseless claims about the 2020 election in Michigan court. DePerno then became a target of the probe into an alleged effort to unlawfully access voting machines.

DePerno blasted the investigation, which Nessel had shifted to a special prosecutor because DePerno was both a target of the probe and her political opponent.

Also charged was former Republican state Rep. Daire Rendon. Both Rendon and DePerno were arraigned Tuesday in Oakland County, Mich., and released on bond.

The special prosecutor, DJ Hilson of Muskegon County, said in a statement that the "process is still ongoing and not over."

In a statement of her own, Nessel said: "The alleged actions by these defendants, and others, who worked to erode trust in our election system caused undeniable harm to our democracy."

After his loss to Nessel, DePerno unsuccessfully sought election as state GOP chair. [Copyright 2023 NPR]