Two right-wing provocateurs, James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, are dealing with election-related expenses in Minnesota after posting movies of an undercover stunt meant to show alleged deficiencies in election security.
Hennepin County Legal professional Mary Moriarty stated every man faces a depend of illegal voting and identification theft.
“Elections are the bedrock of democracy and their safety is certainly one of our highest priorities,” Moriarty stated in a press release. “People participating in illegal conduct associated to our elections shall be held accountable.”
O’Keefe, a self-proclaimed “guerilla journalist” notorious for his undercover movies, and Higby, a social media influencer, posted the video on the coronary heart of the costs in August. It reveals the 2 males approaching election judges at a number of voting precincts in Minneapolis sporting burqas, talking in faux accents, and allegedly misrepresenting their identities, in an effort to show what O’Keefe and Higby say are gaps within the guidelines that enable residents to vouch for the identification of different voters.
The video, which stays pinned on Higby’s X account, is named “I Wore Burqa To EXPOSE Election FRAUD In Minneapolis.”
No ballots had been forged in the middle of their efforts.
Prosecutors stated Wednesday that O’Keefe and Higby deceived the election judges by utilizing the identities of actual Minnesota voters “with out these voters’ information or permission” in violation of state regulation. Every depend carries as much as 5 years in jail and a effective of as much as $10,000. Neither man is in custody, in line with charging paperwork.
Individuals fill their ballots through the first day of early voting for the midterm elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 16, 2026.
Tim Evans/AFP through Getty Pictures
In a press release, O’Keefe known as the costs “weaponized lawfare” and defended his undercover video as journalism protected by the Structure. He vowed to struggle the costs.
“This isn’t political,” he stated. “It’s elementary. It’s about whether or not residents nonetheless have the fitting to query their authorities.”
In a submit shared on X, Higby stated, “No legal guidelines had been damaged. They need me in PRISON for exposing election vulnerabilities of their state.” O’Keefe didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Steve Simon, the state’s prime election official, stated in a press release that “any try and disrupt or deceive our election staff is not going to be tolerated.”
The fees introduced Wednesday in Minnesota will not be O’Keefe’s first brush with the regulation. In 2010, O’Keefe pleaded responsible in Louisiana to a misdemeanor cost of getting into a federal property beneath false pretenses after he posed as a phone repairman to achieve entry to a U.S. senator’s New Orleans workplace.
