O’keefe, Higby Face Minnesota Charges Over Election Stunt
WHO:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - O’Keefe and Higby were members of the Florida-based O’Keefe Media Group; the group described itself as “The Justice League.”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - O’Keefe Media Group said, “The Justice League did not impersonate anyone. At no point did we claim to be William Pomerantz or any other voter. We stated a name and asked election workers questions about Minnesota’s vouching process.”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - O’Keefe said the charges raised whether citizens still have “the right to question their government,” calling the matter a “landmark First Amendment case.”
NY Post - Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said James O’Keefe, 42, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Cam Higby, 26, of Covington, Washington, were charged over conduct at Minnesota polling places.
ABC News US - Conservative activists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby were charged with unlawful voting and identity theft.
The Guardian - Moriarty announced the charges; Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said election locations should remain “islands of calm.”
The Guardian - O’Keefe founded Project Veritas, which the article describes as a discredited right-wing attack organization.
The Guardian - Higby called the charges “lawfare,” claimed “no laws were broken,” and linked to a fundraising site for his legal expenses.
WHAT:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - In a video, a person gave a poll worker at Pratt Elementary School the name “William Pomeranz,” an actual registered Minneapolis voter, then asked about vouching. O’Keefe Media Group said it did not claim to be that voter.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - The video showed one person wearing a burqa; another was heard using an accent while attempting to vouch for others.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - The group apparently left the polling place after being told the person vouching had to sign an oath.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office confirmed in August that law enforcement was reviewing the group’s video.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - The U.S. Department of Justice demanded Minnesota provide all records related to its vouching system; Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon later wrote that the law “seems facially inconsistent with the Help America Vote Act of 2002.” A previous DOJ lawsuit against Minnesota over voter registration was dismissed by a judge.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - Secretary of State Steve Simon said he did not recall a vouching-fraud case during his tenure.
BBC - Higby captioned a video: “I dressed as a Muslim woman and Minneapolis poll workers were prepared to allow me and an army of other foreigners to fraudulently vote without verifying who any of us are.”
NY Post - Moriarty said O’Keefe and Higby wore costumes and used names of registered Minnesota voters while starting the “vouching” process.
Truthout - O’Keefe used a racist accent and wore mock Islamic attire in an unsuccessful attempt to expose what he called election “fraud.”
ABC News US - A prosecutor said the activists gave false names to poll workers.
The Guardian - Moriarty said the men entered multiple polling places and used names of registered voters in those precincts, intentionally misrepresenting their identities to election judges.
The Guardian - Moriarty said they did not sign vouching affidavits or obtain ballots. Some voters whose names were used were deceased; others were alive. One living voter whose name was used had voted in the primary and was “shocked.”
The Guardian - Moriarty said election judges had noted the men’s “strange behavior”; her office could have brought the case even without their videos.
The Guardian - Moriarty said: “If you identify as a journalist, there is no such thing as undercover investigation in the polling place. You have to identify yourself as a journalist in the polling place, which they did not do.”
The Guardian - Moriarty said political views and the video’s intent did not affect the charging decision. She said, “It is not against the law to be offensive,” and that offensive statements outside polling places are not illegal.
The Guardian - Simon said attempts to disrupt or deceive election workers “will not be tolerated.”
WHERE:
NY Post - The conduct occurred at Minnesota polling places; O’Keefe lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Higby in Covington, Washington.
The Guardian - The charges were announced in Minneapolis, and the polling places were in Minnesota.
WHEN:
NY Post - The reported conduct took place during the Aug. 11 primary.
The Guardian - Moriarty announced the charges at a press conference on Wednesday; the article does not specify a calendar date.
The Guardian - The article says less than 0.6% of votes in the 2024 general election used vouching.
WHY:
The Guardian - Trump has repeatedly claimed he won Minnesota three times; he lost the state three times.
The Guardian - O’Keefe and Higby presented their work as investigative journalism and sought to demonstrate vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s vouching process.
HOW:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - For same-day registration, voters generally must provide identification and an approved document showing their address; a registered voter from the same precinct may instead vouch for their address by signing an oath. The potential voter must still provide a Minnesota driver’s license or ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number, for identity verification.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS - Authorized residential-facility employees may also vouch if they provide proof of employment. A person who has been vouched for cannot vouch for another voter.
The Guardian - Minnesota’s vouching process allows a registered voter from the same precinct to vouch for another voter’s eligibility. Voters must still verify identity; vouchers sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury and may vouch for up to eight people.
The Guardian - The process is rarely used and is largely used by people updating names or addresses in voter records.
The Guardian - Moriarty said signing the affidavits in this case would have constituted perjury; she described them as a safeguard.
(UPDATED October 29, 2026 07:02 UTC)
Two conservative activists, James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, have been charged with unlawful voting and identity theft over attempts to test Minnesota’s voter-vouching process at polling places. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said they used names of registered voters and misrepresented their identities, but did not sign vouching affidavits or obtain ballots; Minnesota’s system lets a registered voter from the same precinct vouch for another person’s address, while identity verification is still required. O’Keefe and his media group say they did not impersonate voters and frame the charges as a First Amendment issue, while Secretary of State Steve Simon said attempts to deceive or disrupt election workers will not be tolerated.
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(UPDATED October 29, 2026 04:05 UTC)
Minnesota prosecutors have charged conservative activists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby with unlawful voting and identity theft over their conduct at polling places during the Aug. 11 primary. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says the men wore costumes, gave poll workers names of registered voters and tried to start the state’s vouching process, but did not sign affidavits or obtain ballots.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 22:01 UTC)
Two conservative activists, James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, have been charged with unlawful voting and identity theft over their conduct at Minnesota polling places during the Aug. 11 primary. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said they wore costumes, gave poll workers names belonging to registered voters and tried to start the vouching process, but did not sign affidavits or obtain ballots.