About
Twenty Republican residents of Pennsylvania attempted to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election by submitting fake Electoral College documents to Congress as part of the Jan. 6. 2021 certification process. The group includes a handful of prominent members of the Pennsylvania Republican Party and one was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice for his role in the scheme.
The 20 fake electors mailed signed, notarized certificates to Congress and the National Archives purporting to be official Electoral College votes for Trump.
Politico reported that on Dec. 13, 2020, Christina Bobb, then a One America News anchor and subsequently a legal representative for the former president, briefed a group of Trump’s lawyers on the scheme.
The Big Lie
Pennsylvania submitted the following 20 fake electors to Congress:
Bill Bachenberg: NRA board member
Lou Barletta: former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a 2022 candidate for governor of Pennsylvania who lost in the GOP primary
Tom Carroll: a member of the Northampton County Republican Committeewith a history of claiming election fraud; resigned as assistant district attorney for the county after allegations of racist behavior
Ted Christian: Pennsylvania state director for Trump’s 2016 campaign
Chuck Coccodrilli: formerly a board member for the Pennsylvania Great Frontier PAC, but now deceased
Bernadette Comfort: vice chairwoman for the Pennsylvania Republican Party
Sam DeMarco III: chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Party and at-large member of the Allegheny County Council; subpoenaed by the Department of Justice for his role in the fake electors scheme
Marcela Diaz-Myers: chairwoman of the PA GOP Hispanic Advisory Council
Christie DiEsposti: an account representative at Pure Water Technology
Josephine Ferro: former president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Republican Women
Charlie Gerow: a GOP political strategist, vice chair of the American Conservative Union, and CEO of the Harrisburg-based PR firm Quantum Communications
Kevin Harley: managing director of Quantum Communications
Leah Hoopes: Republican committeewoman for Bethel Township
Ash Khare: an Electoral College elector in 2016 and an active member of the Republican Party
Andre McCoy: a director of government affairs with more than 30 years of military service and civilian experience
Lisa Patton: a former Pennsylvania events director for Trump’s 2020 campaign
Pat Poprik: chair of the Bucks County Republican Committee
Andy Reilly: a national committeeman for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and former member of the Delaware County Council
Suk Smith: owner of the firearms training center Patriot Arms Inc. and the martial arts school Dragons Way School of Kenpo Inc.
Calvin Tucker: a former Trump campaign adviser and deputy chairman and director of engagement and advancement for the Pennsylvania Republican Party
The following seven people were originally planning to act as fake electors but were ultimately replaced:
Robert Asher: a former chairman of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania who was convicted of conspiracy and bribery
Robert Gleason: former chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party
Thomas Marino: a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Lance Stange: former chairman of the northeast caucus of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania
Lawrence Tabas: chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. Prior to the 2020 election, Tabas said that he spoke with the Trump reelection campaign about state legislatures directly appointing electors, but claimed that his remarks were taken out of context.
Christine Toretti: national committeewoman for the Pennsylvania Republican Party
Carolyn Welsh: former sheriff of Chester County and a Trump campaigner in Pennsylvania