Republican activist becomes first person convicted in Arizona fake electors case

A Republican activist who signed a document falsely claiming former President Donald Trump had won Arizona in the 2020 election became the first person to be convicted in the state's fake elector case.

Loraine Pellegrino, a former president of the group Ahwatukee Republican Women, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false document, Arizona Attorney General's Office spokesperson Richie Taylor said Tuesday, declining to comment further. Records documenting her guilty plea have not yet been posted by the court. Still, court records show Pellegrino was sentenced to unsupervised probation. Before the plea, she faced nine felony charges.

Seventeen other people had been charged in the case, including 10 other Republicans who had signed a certificate saying they were "duly elected and qualified" electors and claimed Trump had carried Arizona in the 2020 election. President Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes. Joshua Kolsrud, an attorney representing Pellegrino, said in a statement that his client has accepted responsibility for her actions.