This week, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel went on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Morning Joe in response to Michigan GOP AG candidate Matt DePerno’s dangerous comments at a Big Lie rally in Lansing, Michigan. As DePerno was spreading lies about the 2020 election and our democracy, rally attendees shouted “lock her up” when DePerno mentioned AG Nessel by name. 

AG Nessel shared with Maddow, “It’s hard to believe that this is the democracy that we know and love in this country and how quickly it’s deteriorating.” She goes on to say, “I think certainly that there are a lot of voters that are turned off…unfortunately, the members of the party and those who run for positions of elected leadership in the party are totally beholden to Trump. And so if that means coalescing behind this very violent message of demagoguery, then that’s what they’re going to do.”

DePerno, who has pushed demonstrably false claims of election fraud, is further contributing to the months-long disinformation campaign that continues to threaten our democracy. And former President Donald Trump loves it. As Rolling Stone put it, “As he gears up for a prospective run at reclaiming his power in 2024, Trump is doing all he can to rid the Republican Party not only of anyone who might get in the way of him winning back the White House, but of those who dare acknowledge that he even lost it in the first place, and who dare remain uncommitted to doing whatever it takes to help him return to power. Michigan and its 16 electoral votes is one of his biggest targets.” 

AG Nessel made clear in her interviews that the “audit” of the 2020 election results, the focus of yesterday’s Trump-inspired rally, was a dangerous political stunt meant to further divide our country. As Nessel shared, “If people like Matthew DePerno end up winning in the swing states for attorney general and secretary of State, I think democracy as we know it will be completely gone by 2024.”