Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty on Wednesday charged conservative journalist James O’Keefe and activist Cam Higby with felony unlawful voting and identity theft over a hidden-camera video they shot at Minneapolis polling places during the August primary, according to Just the News and Hot Air.
Each man faces two felony counts. Both offenses carry a maximum of five years in prison, Just the News reported. Neither man was arrested. Both were issued summonses to appear in Hennepin County court, the Daily Beast reported.
What the video showed
The target was Minnesota’s vouching law, which lets one registered voter vouch for up to eight others who show up without ID. The video, pinned to Higby’s X account, is titled “I Wore Burqa To EXPOSE Election FRAUD In Minneapolis.”
In footage O’Keefe posted on X, quoted by Hot Air, an election worker tells the men, “You’re the ID,” and later says, “If you’re all in the same precinct and you are already registered, you can vouch for them as ID. Eight people.”
Prosecutors say the men falsely identified themselves as four registered Minneapolis voters without those voters’ permission. The county’s own press release, quoted by Hot Air, concedes the men stopped before casting anything: “While Mr. Higby and Mr. O’Keefe did not sign the oath, both men intentionally misrepresented their identities in applying for ballots.” Hot Air reported that neither man voted.
The reaction
“Elections are the bedrock of democracy and their protection is one of our highest priorities,” Moriarty said. “Individuals engaging in unlawful conduct related to our elections will be held accountable.”
Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon said in the same release, “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for holding these individuals to account.”
Higby fired back on X. “No laws were broken. They want me in PRISON for exposing election vulnerabilities in their state,” he wrote, calling the case “LAWFARE.” O’Keefe did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Hot Air’s David Strom called Moriarty a “Soros Prosecutor” and faulted her record on violent crime.
The bottom line
Two men walked into Minneapolis polling places, used the vouching rule to apply for ballots in other people’s names, filmed it, stopped short of voting and posted the tape. On camera, an election worker told them, “You’re the ID.” The response from Hennepin County was to charge the people who exposed the gap, not to close it.
Felony charges carrying up to five years in prison, announced six days before a national election, for a stunt in which no vote was cast, send a message to every citizen journalist in Minnesota: look into the election system and you may be prosecuted. Meanwhile the vouching rule the video exposed is still on the books.
If Moriarty and Simon care about election integrity, they should be working with the Legislature to tighten vouching before the next election. O’Keefe and Higby should get their day in court, and a jury should hear exactly what the poll worker said on that tape.