State Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) today responded to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s findings that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson violated campaign finance law. Rigas, who chairs the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government, said the move is largely theatrics and that Benson’s actions will have no real consequences.

“Let’s be clear: Nessel only went after Benson to save face,” Rigas said. “This is a weak, last-ditch attempt to look fair after years of protecting her Democrat allies and targeting conservatives.”

Nessel announced today she was giving Benson “a reminder and warning” after Benson announced her gubernatorial campaign at a press conference in the Richard H. Austin Building, which houses the Department of State. State campaign finance law prohibits campaigning in government buildings. Rigas thinks this showcases the two-tiered justice system her subcommittee has been investigating for months.

“Nessel weaponized her office against barbers and waitresses during COVID,” Rigas noted. “But she lets her political allies off with a warning when they break the law to help each other win elections.”

Rigas’ subcommittee has been investigating politically motivated enforcement patterns under Nessel’s leadership during her tenure as attorney general. From targeting small business owners like Marlena Hackney and Karl Manke, to using her office to suppress dissenting voices, the subcommittee has compiled testimony and evidence pointing to long-standing abuses of power.

“This wasn’t justice,” Rigas said. “It was damage control, and it proves everything we’ve said about Nessel’s partisan double standards.”

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