Election Fraud Claims

Alex Jones

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Alex Jones used his Infowars platform to amplify false claims of election fraud to millions of followers. He promoted the 'Stop the Steal' movement and was present at the January 6 rally preceding the Capitol attack. Jones had previously been ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages for spreading false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook school shooting, establishing a pattern of promoting dangerous disinformation.

Cyber Ninjas was a Florida-based cybersecurity firm with no election audit experience that was hired by Arizona Senate Republicans to conduct a "forensic audit" of Maricopa County's 2020 election results. The months-long process was widely criticized for lack of transparency and proper methodology. Ironically, the final report found that Biden actually gained votes compared to the official count. The company dissolved shortly after completing the audit, and its CEO was held in contempt of court for refusing to turn over records.

Donald Trump

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Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden by over 7 million popular votes and 74 Electoral College votes. Despite this, Trump refused to concede and launched an unprecedented campaign to overturn the results, promoting false claims of widespread voter fraud. His own Attorney General, Bill Barr, stated the DOJ found no evidence of fraud sufficient to change the outcome. Trump was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for his efforts to overturn the election and by Fulton County DA Fani Willis in a RICO case related to the fake electors scheme.

On November 7, 2020, Trump's legal team held a press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a small landscaping business in northeast Philadelphia, rather than the Four Seasons Hotel — apparently due to a booking error. Rudy Giuliani made false claims of voter fraud while standing in the parking lot between a crematorium and an adult bookstore. The event became a cultural symbol of the disorganization and absurdity of the post-election legal effort. Major news networks called the election for Biden during the press conference.

Four Seasons Total Landscaping is a small landscaping business at 7347 State Road in northeast Philadelphia. It became internationally famous on November 7, 2020, when the Trump campaign held a press conference there — apparently mistaking it for the Four Seasons Hotel. The event became an enduring symbol of the chaotic and baseless nature of the post-election fraud claims.

Jeffrey Clark

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Jeffrey Clark was a DOJ official who drafted a letter to Georgia officials falsely claiming the DOJ had identified "significant concerns" about the election — a letter his superiors refused to send. Clark attempted to get Trump to appoint him as Acting Attorney General so he could send the letter, a scheme that was only stopped when DOJ leadership threatened mass resignations. He was indicted in the Fulton County RICO case.

Jenna Ellis

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Jenna Ellis served as a senior legal advisor on Trump's post-election legal team. She publicly promoted false claims about the election on television and social media. Ellis pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the Fulton County RICO case and tearfully admitted in court that she "failed in her duties as a lawyer" and relied on claims from other attorneys without independently verifying them. She was censured by the Colorado bar.

John Eastman

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John Eastman authored a legal memo arguing that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to reject certified Electoral College votes on January 6 — a theory rejected by virtually all constitutional scholars and by Pence himself. Eastman was disbarred in California for his role in attempting to overturn the election. He was indicted in both the federal case and the Fulton County RICO case.

Kari Lake

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Kari Lake ran for Arizona Governor in 2022 on a platform centered on claims that the 2020 election was stolen. After losing her own race, she refused to concede and filed multiple lawsuits challenging the results — all of which were dismissed. Lake's claims about Maricopa County's election procedures were rejected by Arizona courts. She continued to promote election fraud conspiracies despite lacking evidence.

Kenneth Chesebro was the legal architect of the fake electors scheme, which involved creating slates of fraudulent electors in states Biden won and submitting them to Congress and the National Archives as if they were legitimate. Chesebro pleaded guilty in the Fulton County RICO case. The scheme was a key component of the broader effort to overturn the election results on January 6.

Lin Wood, a previously prominent defamation attorney, filed a series of increasingly outlandish lawsuits challenging election results in Georgia and other states, all of which were dismissed. He promoted conspiracy theories linking voting machine companies to Venezuela and China. Wood was investigated by the State Bar of Georgia and subject to a competency evaluation. His own former law partners described his claims as baseless.

In 2021, Arizona Senate Republicans hired Cyber Ninjas, a firm with no election audit experience, to conduct a "forensic audit" of Maricopa County's 2.1 million ballots. The chaotic process involved searching for bamboo fibers (based on a conspiracy theory about ballots from Asia) and examining ballots under UV light. After months of delays and controversies over methodology, the final report actually found Biden gained 360 more votes than the official count. The audit inadvertently reinforced the legitimacy of the original results.

Maricopa County, Arizona was the site of the controversial Cyber Ninjas "audit" of 2.1 million ballots from the 2020 election. Despite conspiracy theories about the county's election procedures, the audit confirmed Biden's victory and found he actually gained votes. The county's Republican-led Board of Supervisors defended the integrity of their elections against attacks from within their own party.

Mark Meadows

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Mark Meadows served as White House Chief of Staff during Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He participated in the phone call pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes." Meadows was indicted in the Fulton County RICO case and reached a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Jack Smith. Text messages revealed his involvement in coordinating efforts to challenge election results across multiple states.

Michael Flynn

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Michael Flynn, Trump's former National Security Advisor who had previously pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI (and was pardoned), publicly advocated for Trump to declare martial law and use the military to "rerun" the election in swing states. He promoted QAnon conspiracy theories and appeared at rallies promoting the lie that the election was stolen. No credible evidence supported any of the claims he promoted.

Mike Lindell

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Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, became one of the most prolific promoters of debunked conspiracy theories about voting machines. He claimed to have "proof" that Chinese hackers switched votes via Dominion machines — evidence that cybersecurity experts unanimously dismissed as fabricated. Lindell spent millions of his own money promoting these claims and was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation. He offered a $5 million reward to anyone who could disprove his data; a cybersecurity expert won the challenge but Lindell refused to pay.

One America News Network

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One America News Network (OAN) was a right-wing cable network that aggressively promoted debunked election fraud claims, including conspiracy theories about Dominion and Smartmatic voting machines. OAN aired content from figures like Mike Lindell and promoted the discredited Arizona "audit." The network settled a defamation lawsuit with Smartmatic and was dropped by multiple cable carriers. OAN broadcast claims that were uniformly rejected by courts.

Patrick Byrne, former CEO of Overstock.com, funded and participated in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. He attended a contentious December 2020 White House meeting where participants discussed seizing voting machines and appointing Sidney Powell as a special counsel to investigate fraud. He provided financial backing to various election fraud investigation efforts, none of which produced evidence of widespread fraud.

Peter Navarro

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Peter Navarro, a White House trade advisor with no election expertise, authored three reports he called "The Navarro Report" claiming to document election fraud. The reports were widely debunked by election experts as a collection of previously disproven claims, statistical errors, and misrepresentations. Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a January 6 Committee subpoena and served a four-month prison sentence.

Rudy Giuliani

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Rudy Giuliani served as Trump's lead attorney in challenging the 2020 election results. He promoted debunked conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems and other baseless fraud claims, including the infamous Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference. Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington D.C. for making false statements about the election. He was found liable for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss and ordered to pay $148 million in damages.

Sidney Powell filed a series of lawsuits she called "Release the Kraken," claiming Dominion Voting Systems machines were rigged using Venezuelan software to flip votes. Every lawsuit was dismissed for lack of evidence. Powell was sanctioned by a federal judge for filing frivolous lawsuits. She pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the Fulton County, Georgia RICO case related to the fake electors scheme.

Steve Bannon

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Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, ran a podcast "War Room" that served as a central hub for promoting election fraud conspiracy theories. He was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the January 6 Committee. Before the election, Bannon predicted on tape that Trump would declare victory prematurely regardless of results, which is exactly what happened.

Stop the Steal was a political movement and loosely organized campaign that promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Originally organized by Ali Alexander and Roger Stone, the movement organized rallies and protests nationwide, culminating in the January 6 rally that preceded the Capitol attack. Facebook removed the original "Stop the Steal" group for inciting violence. The movement's central premise — that the election was stolen — was rejected by every court that heard the claims.

True the Vote is the organization behind the debunked "2000 Mules" documentary, which claimed to use cell phone geolocation data to prove widespread ballot harvesting. The methodology was rejected by experts, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no evidence supporting the claims, and a federal judge sanctioned True the Vote for failing to produce evidence. The film's distributor, Salem Media, pulled the film and apologized. True the Vote's founder was briefly jailed for contempt for refusing to reveal her sources.

On January 2, 2021, Donald Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and pressured him to "find 11,780 votes" — one more than Biden's margin of victory in the state. The hour-long call was recorded by Raffensperger's office and published by The Washington Post. During the call, Trump made multiple false claims about the election that Raffensperger's team refuted in real time. The call became central evidence in the Fulton County RICO indictment.