Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, were both subpoenaed by the Department of Justice Thursday for their alleged involvement in a plan to send alternate electors to Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, reports Politico.
The pair were among several pro-Trump activists who signed certificates claiming to be duly elected and qualified electors from Trump and Arizona.
The investigation stems from a notarized document sent to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in December 2020, by a group of 11 Arizona Republicans who claimed to represent the "sovereign citizens of the Great State of Arizona" casting votes for a second term for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
"This is an investigation based on allegations that our clients engaged in core First Amendment-protected activity, specifically, petitioning Congress for redress of grievances," said Alexander Kolodin, an attorney for the Wards.
The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol previously subpoenaed the Wards' phone records.
Kelli Ward was also subpoenaed for testimony and documents by the House Select Committee in February.
A CNN report said two others involved in the effort, Nancy Cottle and Loraine Pellegrino, who signed the false elector document as chair and secretary, also received subpoenas.
The House committee in a televised hearing Tuesday laid out plans by former Trump and his allies to deliver an alternate set of electors to former Pence ahead of the counting and certification of the presidential election during a joint session of Congress.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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