A federal court was asked Thursday to block conservative activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman from placing more of the automated phone calls they face charges for.
Lawyers suing the men in Manhattan requested the court authorize the temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to legally prevent either defendant from making robocalls for now.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office charged both men earlier this month after connecting them to robocalls that discouraged residents of Detroit from voting by mail in next month’s elections.
A voter engagement group subsequently sued both men in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where lawyers for the plaintiffs requested the restraining order and injunction.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office previously said the robocalls were received by nearly 12,000 residents of the Detroit region and that similar calls were reported in several other states.
Mr. Wohl and Mr. Burkman are barred from making robocalls until the election ends under bond conditions set by a Michigan judge allowing them to remain free pending the outcome of the state’s case.
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation says the restraining order and injunction are needed to clarify Mr. Wohl and Mr. Burkman cannot make robocalls in states besides Michigan.
“Defendants’ lawlessness knows no bounds, and they must be stopped from interfering with the most sacred of rights: the right to vote,” the group’s lawyers wrote in the court filing.
“Defendants’ acts, if not enjoined, will have a particularly widespread and egregious impact, by making those who are already choosing to vote by mail because they fear the health risks of voting in person, to also fear voting by mail. That harm is immediate and irreparable,” they added.
The calls received by residents of Detroit, a predominantly Black city, falsely claimed mail-in ballots will be used to force vaccinate and to find voters with arrest warrants or outstanding debts.
“Don’t be finessed into giving your private information to The Man to stay safe and be aware of vote-by-mail,” a person claiming to be associated with Mr. Wohl and Mr. Burkman said in the calls.
Mr. Wohl, 22, and Mr. Burkman, 54, each face felony charges related to the robocalls, including counts of intimidating voters and conspiracy to commit an election law violation, among others.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges in Michigan. Assistant Attorney General Richard Cunningham Richard Cunningham previously said he has records tracing them to the calls.
Lawyers for the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation sued both men in Manhattan last week alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, a Clinton appointee, has scheduled a hearing to consider their request for restraining order and injunction for Monday morning.
Including the thousands of calls reported in Michigan, prosecutors there say they believe about 85,000 calls were made nationally to numbers in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.
Reached by email later Thursday, Mr. Burkman called the New York case “without foundation” and said he certainly hopes the court decides not to impose the temporary restraining order sought.
Mr. Wohl, a former hedge fund manager, and Mr. Burkman, a registered lobbyist, have made waves repeatedly in recent years for collaborating to promote various conspiracy theories and other stunts.
Their earlier antics have included holding press conferences to announce uncorroborated claims of sexual misconduct involving former special counsel Robert Mueller and several Democratic lawmakers.
A message requesting comment from Mr. Wohl was not immediately returned.
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