Minnesota Charges Against Conservative Activists Stir GOP Election Concerns
WHO:
CNN - Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office is charging conservative influencers James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby with felony counts of unlawful voting and identity theft.
NBC News - A Minnesota district attorney charged conservative influencers James O’Keefe and Cam Higby with felony counts of unlawful voting and identity theft.
MPR News - Hennepin County prosecutors charged James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby; Moriarty said the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office alerted prosecutors to efforts by O’Keefe, Higby and others to undermine the state’s vouching system.
MPR News - Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said poll workers acted properly to protect election integrity and said attempts to disrupt or deceive election workers would not be tolerated.
CNN - Moriarty said election judges reported concerns about the men’s “strange behavior” to police, and living voters whose names were used said they knew nothing about the effort.
WHAT:
MPR News - Moriarty said names used by the men included at least one living resident who had voted.
CBS News Politics - The activists described themselves as the “Citizen Justice League” and said they were testing Minnesota’s 53-year-old voter voucher law.
CNN - Prosecutors allege O’Keefe and Higby misrepresented their identities using names of real voters, including living and deceased people, while visiting polling places with concealed cameras. They did not cast ballots.
MPR News - Videos showed the men wearing burkas outside precincts; O’Keefe, using an accent, asked poll workers whether he could vouch for other voters as a team member filmed.
MPR News - Higby said in a video they would test whether they could vote without IDs and vouch for people who were not registered.
CNN - Moriarty said the videos were deceptively edited and said, “You cannot use someone else’s name and misrepresent yourself. Whether or not you attempted to vote is irrelevant.”
MPR News - Moriarty said the men did not intend to vote, but said they could not misidentify themselves or use another person’s identity while applying for a ballot. They did not sign the oath required to vouch for another person; Moriarty said signing it would have been felony perjury.
MPR News - O’Keefe’s group, the “Justice League,” said the men “did not cast ballots” and that the investigation aimed to test Minnesota’s vouching law and document how election workers applied it.
CNN - Moriarty said the men had not been arrested; the county clerk would send them the criminal complaints and their first-appearance information. The men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WHERE:
CNN - The alleged conduct occurred at polling places in Minnesota during the state’s August primary.
MPR News - The videos concerned polling places in Minneapolis during Minnesota’s primary.
WHEN:
MPR News - The initial court appearance for O’Keefe and Higby is set for Nov. 16.
CNN - The alleged polling-place visits occurred during the state’s August primary.
WHY:
CNN - Moriarty said the men were attempting to test Minnesota’s “vouching” process and said the charges were intended to address their alleged unlawful conduct, not to send a broader message.
MPR News - O’Keefe’s group said the effort was intended to test the limits of the vouching law and document its application.
HOW:
CNN - Minnesota’s vouching process allows a registered voter in a precinct to confirm that another person lives where they say they do; Moriarty said it is often used by seniors who have not updated their driver’s licenses after moving into nursing homes.
MPR News - An already-registered voter can accompany an unregistered voter to the precinct and sign an oath confirming the person’s address. State law allows a registered voter to vouch for up to eight people.
CNN - Moriarty said undercover investigations are not permitted in polling places and journalists must identify themselves there.
(UPDATED October 28, 2026 20:01 UTC)
Hennepin County prosecutors have charged conservative influencers James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby with felony counts of unlawful voting and identity theft over visits to Minnesota polling places during the August primary. Prosecutors allege the men used names of real voters, including living and deceased people, while filming a test of Minnesota’s vouching system, though they did not cast ballots or sign the oath required to vouch for another voter. They have not been arrested, and their initial court appearance is set for Nov.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 19:04 UTC)
Hennepin County prosecutors have charged conservative influencers James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby with felony unlawful voting and identity theft over alleged conduct at Minneapolis polling places during Minnesota’s August primary. Prosecutors say the men used names of real voters while wearing concealed cameras and testing the state’s vouching process, though they did not cast ballots or sign the oath required to vouch for another person. Minnesota’s vouching system lets a registered voter confirm the address of an unregistered voter, and O’Keefe’s group says the effort was intended to test the law; the men have not been arrested, and their first court appearance is set for Nov.