About
Sean Reyes (R) has been the attorney general of Utah since he was first appointed by the governor in 2013. His most recent reelection in 2020 was for a five-year term.
An ardent MAGA Republican and Trump supporter, Reyes served as Utah co-chair of his 2020 reelection campaign. Once Biden won, the AG helped spread the Big Lie by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the process and making claims of fraud unfounded by facts.
Prior to holding public office, Reyes practiced law for 14 years at Utah’s largest law firm, Parsons Behle & Latimer, where he became a partner. He also co-founded Accelerate Ventures, a venture capital firm, and was a counsel for eTAGZ, a company developing a technology to embed digital files on product packaging. In addition, he served as a small claims court judge.
Reyes’ tenure as attorney general has been sullied by several allegations of corruption. He has accepted numerous donations from Washakie Renewable Energy, a company accused of fraud for fabricating information to receive tax credits. When the governor appointed him as AG, he recommended that Reyes resign from all corporate boards. However, he ignored that advice and instead remained on the boards of numerous companies for years, including Key Bank, creating potential conflicts of interest.
January 6, 2021
- Reyes is a prominent and active member of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), previously serving as its chairman. RAGA made robocalls prior to the Jan. 6 insurrection encouraging all Trump loyalists to come to Washington to protest the certification of the Electoral College victory for Biden.
- On Jan. 10, 2021, after the violent mob attacked the Capitol, Reyes attempted to distance himself from RAGA and the robocalls, tweeting a statement that read: “A.G. Reyes was not involved in organizing the rally in Washington, D.C. He supports everyone’s rights to peacefully protest and, as stated previously, condemns in the strongest possible terms all acts of lawlessness and violence at the Capitol building last week.”
The Big Lie
- Immediately after the 2020 election, Reyes took “emergency” leave from his official duties in Utah to travel to Nevada to investigate alleged voter fraud.
- To justify his trip to Nevada, Reyes said in a prepared statement: “There is evidence of voting irregularities that may have resulted in improper votes being counted or proper votes being rejected. How many? Will they make a difference? These are the answers we are seeking.”
- In December 2020, Reyes joined a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) that attempted to invalidate the election results in four battleground states, all of which President Biden won. The Supreme Court quickly dismissed the case.
- In December 2020, Reyes traveled to Washington to meet with Trump and 11 other state attorneys general to plot strategies for overturning the election based on unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.