Minneapolis prosecutors charged conservative activist James O’Keefe and right-wing influencer Cam Higby after the pair used the names of registered voters to make a hidden-camera video in a bid to expose voter fraud in the state.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty tied the charges of unlawful voting and identity theft to a video released by the duo in which they pretended to be Muslim and visited three different polling places in August’s primary election.
“Mr. O’Keefe and Mr. Higby entered the polling places in multiple instances, identified themselves using names of registered voters in those precincts without those voters’ knowledge or commission,” Ms. Moriarty said during a Wednesday press conference announcing the charges.
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The top prosecutor said she didn’t know how they acquired the names of registered voters, but they included people who were both dead and alive.
The video captured Mr. Higby and Mr. O’Keefe going to voting sites around Minneapolis to try to unveil weaknesses in the state’s vouching law, which allows registered voters to attest that a potential voter is at the correct precinct.
Mr. Higby and his colleague wore niqabs — long opaque garments that cover the entire body and face except the eyes — when visiting the first voting center, according to the video footage.
Mr. O’Keefe also spoke in a foreign accent when he dropped by a polling place in the video.
Minnesota’s vouching law has been in place since 1973, but the Secretary of State’s Office said only 0.6% of votes cast in the 2024 general election came from vouched voters.
The law has traditionally been used by people who recently moved and have not updated their address on their voter registration, or for new residents of senior living facilities.
Both Mr. Higby and Mr. O’Keefe said at the time that they did not cast ballots in the election, but Ms. Moriarty said they did intend to do so and began applying for a ballot, which could make them criminally liable.
However, the prosecutor acknowledged the accused stopped short of the clear-cut felony of signing an oath affirming their alleged identities and declaring that they could legally vouch for another person.
“They did not sign that oath, and that oath, in and of itself, if you sign that oath and you do not live in that ward, or you’re vouching for somebody who does not, that’s perjury. It’s a felony,” she said.
Mr. Higby took to social media to say, “Minnesota has filed two felony charges against me related to my Burqa video in the state.
“No laws were broken. They want me in prison for exposing election vulnerabilities in their state. Support me below if you can. Thank you all,” he wrote on X.
Neither man was arrested on the charges. They are scheduled for their first court appearance Nov. 16.
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