© 2024 WEMU
Serving Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, MI
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'Unlock Michigan’ case continues

A band of American $100 dollar bills tied in a band
401(K) 2012
/
Flickr
A band of American $100 dollar bills tied in a band

Charges against defendants in a case involving an alleged dark money scheme in Michigan will continue.

The case stems from two non-profits raising over $2 million for a campaign to end many of Michigan’s COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021.

The state attorney general’s office alleges people associated with the Unlock Michigan campaign coordinated with the groups to get around campaign finance laws.

That’s because 501(c)(4) non-profits, like Michigan! My Michigan! and Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility don’t have to reveal their donors, unlike campaigns for ballot initiatives or political office.

On Monday, 54A District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons forwarded the case against Sandy Baxter, a fundraiser for Republican causes, to trial.

Baxter faces a felony perjury charge.

Shortly after Baxter’s hearing, Simmons dismissed misdemeanor charges against another defendant in the case, Bright Spark Strategies co-founder Heather Lombardini.

The dismissed charges involved failing to file campaign finance statements.

Lombardini’s attorney, Thomas Cranmer, argued the state attorney general’s office didn’t follow a 60-day deadline to bring charges in the case.

But Simmons allowed a felony charge against Lombardini for Uttering and Publishing, a crime often associated with fraud or forgery, to stand.

Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support.  Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.

Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org

Colin Jackson is the Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network.
Related Content