Arizona had a second slate of 'fake electors' in 2020. What happens to them now?

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes didn’t indict members of a lesser-known group that submitted papers in Washington, D.C., claiming the state voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020, seemingly ending the potential legal saga for a group quickly overshadowed by those more closely connected to Trump’s bid to overturn the election.

The group led by Mesa resident Lori Osiecki sent documents from its would-be electors to Washington before the better-known group featuring members of the Arizona Republican Party and GOP loyalists sent theirs.

But Osiecki’s group, known as “AZ Protect the Vote,” had no apparent coordination with the Trump campaign, the White House or the state party. That key difference may be what kept that group of 11 from facing charges similar to the false-documents indictment unveiled against the state GOP’s “fake electors” and others close to the Trump campaign on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear how seriously the attorney general’s investigation ever examined the Osiecki group. Mayes didn’t address their effort in her videotaped remarks after her office announced its indictment and only said her team would continue to examine “efforts to illegally subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

Catch up: Grand jury indicts fake electors who falsely certified Trump as 2020 winner in Arizona

A Mayes spokesperson could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

Osiecki also was not immediately available for comment.

Gov. Katie Hobbs, who was secretary of state at the time, sent Osiecki a cease-and-desist letter shortly after they sent their documents to the National Archives and asked the state attorney general to investigate potential criminal charges for improper use of the state seal.

That never led to any legal fallout under former Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

While the Osiecki group wasn’t formally working with Trump’s allies, they were influenced by them in ways parallel to events noted in the indictment.

Osiecki’s group, for example, attended post-election rallies protesting the results of the 2020 election, including a daylong public meeting in Phoenix that included Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who was among those indicted on Wednesday.

That meeting was part of the pressure campaign led by Trump himself and exerted on state lawmakers as Trump sought to sidestep official results showing President Joe Biden won the election.

But Osiecki’s group eagerly did what the 11 Republican electors only did after some deliberation with lawyers connected to the state party and discussion with Trump allies.

The Osiecki effort didn’t feature the names of electors who actually appeared on the 2020 ballot. The submission of the state GOP electors, made in consultation with Trump’s lawyers and campaign allies, always put the spotlight on that slate, rather than hers.

Osiecki, who received recognition in Mesa for her neighborhood preservation efforts a generation earlier, didn’t step back from politics.

In 2021, she worked with the congressional campaign for Republican Walt Blackman and months later for the Senate campaign for Republican Blake Masters in 2022.

In a 2020 interview with The Arizona Republic, Osiecki cast her fake electors effort as trying to address the problem of an election they viewed as stolen.

“One thing I will say about conservatives, is if something is wrong, and we have lost — a true loss — then we accept,” she said. “We’re not going to drag people through the mud and fight it. But this clearly has got issues. I saw it with my own eyes and my own research. After that (Giuliani) hearing, I was shocked we didn’t have any other marching orders.”

The Osiecki electors sent their choices using documents notarized by Melanie Hunsaker, who works in real estate. Her husband, Jamie Hunsaker, is a Trump enthusiast and one of the purported electors.

Donald Paul Schween, another would-be elector, has been active in Republican Party politics.

Federico Buck, another real estate veteran, is among the signatories. Others include Cynthia Franco, Sarai Franco, Stewart A. Hogue, Carrie Lundell, Christeen Taryn Moser, Danjee J. Moser, Jessica Panell and Peter Wang.

Osiecki attested to the group’s eligibility as electors.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's second slate of 2020 'fake electors' were not indicted