Disputed Fact
Attorney Matt DePerno and attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila — both active in 2020 election-challenge litigation and forensic investigations of electronic voting systems — were charged with felonies arising from their involvement in unauthorized access to and testing of voting tabulators. On August 1–2, 2023, Michigan special prosecutor D.J. Hilson — appointed by Attorney General Nessel due to her conflict of interest as DePerno’s 2022 electoral opponent — charged DePerno and Lambert with undue possession of a voting machine, willful damage to a voting machine, and conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to a computer system, among other counts carrying four-to-five-year maximum sentences. The charges alleged that five tabulators were removed from Barry, Roscommon, and Missaukee counties to hotel rooms in Oakland County for testing sessions at which both DePerno and Lambert were regularly present. In a separate prosecution brought directly by Nessel’s office, Lambert and former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott were charged on May 8, 2024 with unauthorized access to a computer system, using a computer to commit a crime, and — in Scott’s case — misconduct in office and disobeying a Secretary of State order, based on allegations that Scott withheld a township tabulator from an authorized vendor and that Lambert transmitted data from the township’s electronic poll book. Lambert and Scott were bound over for trial in Hillsdale County’s First Circuit Court on December 1, 2025. Defense counsel characterized the prosecutions as criminalizing investigative steps — examining machines and extracting data — undertaken to document election irregularities, rather than independent criminal schemes; both defendants denied wrongdoing and the cases remain pending.
Citations
NPR, Michigan Special Prosecutor Charges Former AG Candidate Matt DePerno with Election CrimesMichigan Special Prosecutor Charges Former AG Candidate Matt DePerno with Election Crimes (Aug. 1, 2023), https://www.npr.org/2023/08/01/1142599350/deperno-michigan-voting-machine-breach-charges; see alsosee also PBS NewsHour, Michigan prosecutors charge Trump allies with felonies involving voting machine tamperingMichigan prosecutors charge Trump allies with felonies involving voting machine tampering (Aug. 1, 2023), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/michigan-prosecutors-charge-trump-allies-with-felonies-involving-voting-machine-tampering . Special prosecutor Hilson’s appointment was necessitated by Nessel’s acknowledged conflict of interest as DePerno’s prior electoral opponent. Lambert was charged two days later, on August 3, 2023. Detroit Free Press, Stefanie Lambert Junttila charged with criminal counts over voting machinesStefanie Lambert Junttila charged with criminal counts over voting machines (Aug. 3, 2023), https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/03/stefanie-lambert-junttila-attorney-criminal-charges-trump/70414010007/.
Bridge Michigan, Matthew DePerno, ex-Rep. Daire Rendon charged over vote-machine tamperingMatthew DePerno, ex-Rep. Daire Rendon charged over vote-machine tampering (Aug. 1, 2023), https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/matthew-deperno-ex-rep-daire-rendon-charged-vote-machine-tampering/; States United Democracy Center, Backgrounder: Lambert Tabulator TrialBackgrounder: Lambert Tabulator Trial (updated 2025), https://statesunited.org/resources/lambert-trial/.
Michigan Attorney General, Press Release: AG Nessel Charges Attorney Stefanie Lambert and Former Adams Township Clerk ScottPress Release: AG Nessel Charges Attorney Stefanie Lambert and Former Adams Township Clerk Scott (May 8, 2024), https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2024/05/08/ag-nessel-charges-attorney-stefanie-lambert-and-former-adams-township-clerk-scott; CBS Detroit, Michigan township clerk, attorney charged in election voter data breachMichigan township clerk, attorney charged in election voter data breach (May 2024), https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-township-clerk-stephanie-scott-attorney-stefanie-lambert-election-voter-data-breach/.
Lambert’s attorney Daniel Hartman stated that Lambert “remains steadfast in her efforts to bring transparency to the people’s election data, processes and procedures.” States United backgrounder, suprasupra n.2. DePerno stated that charges were “motivated primarily by politics rather than evidence.” NPR, suprasupra n.1. Lambert stated she had “done absolutely nothing illegal.” Freep, suprasupra n.1.