LANSING, Mich. — Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf has filed a federal lawsuit alleging voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election.
Leaf filed an “application for restraining order” to prevent Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from ordering the deletion of election data by county clerks, according to documents obtained by Fox 17.
The lawsuit says that once the data is destroyed, it will not be available for forensic examination.
It also says an audit being conducted by the state is “very limited” and “will simply recount potentially fraudulent, or illegal, ballots, and will not reveal the systematic attempts at mass fraud throughout the State of Michigan and the United States of America.”
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"The limited selected audit in Michigan will mask fraud, and violations of election law and the United State Constitution," the lawsuit said. "Therefore it is imperative that the data from all of the Michigan municipalities be preserved, otherwise it will have been long destroyed prior to legal action to address claims regarding an insufficient audit or other meritorious election claims."
Leaf’s previous comments regarding the men charged with allegedly plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were seen as a defense of the conspirators.
"A lot of people are angry with the governor and they want her arrested," Leaf told Fox 17 at the time. "So were they trying to arrest, or was it a kidnap attempt? Because you can still, in Michigan, if it's a felony, you can make a felony arrest."
SEE MORE: Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf asks if alleged kidnappers were 'trying to arrest' Gov. Whitmer
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SEE MORE: AG Nessel: Michigan State Police will enforce laws at polling places if local sheriffs don't
The lawsuit names Benson, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Board of State Canvassers as defendants.
Read the full lawsuit here.
