Two conservative activists are facing felony charges brought by ‘America’s wokest prosecutor‘ after they dressed in Muslim clothing to test the ‘lunacy’ of Minnesota‘s voting systems.
Influencers James O’Keefe, 42, and Cam Higby, 26, were charged on Wednesday with unlawful voting and identity theft by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, over a political stunt they pulled on August 11.
The pair filmed themselves entering polling places during the state’s primary election dressed in head-to-toe Muslim clothing, intending to expose the ‘sheer lunacy’ of the state’s voting programs.
Specifically, the pair were highlighting the state’s ‘vouching’ process, which allows a registered voter to vouch for the identities of up to eight other people, which then allows the others to vote without an ID.
Footage of the conservative activists testing the system racked up millions of views across social media.
On Wednesday, Moriarty announced charges against O’Keefe and Higby, accusing them of violating voting laws by intentionally ‘misrepresenting their identity when they applied for a ballot.’
At a press conference, Moriarty admitted that the men did not actually vote and ‘stopped short of signing the oath we all sign before receiving our ballot’, but said they violated the state’s voting laws anyway.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon also accused the men of an ‘outrageous’ scheme, and stated: ‘We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking, and disruptions at our polling places.’
Conservative activists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby are facing felony charges brought by ‘America’s wokest prosecutor’ after they dressed in Muslim clothing to test the ‘lunacy’ of Minnesota’s voting systems
Conservative influencer James O’Keefe (above) said he pulled off the stunt to expose the ‘sheer lunacy’ of the state’s voting system
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty brought charges against the two men on Wednesday. Moriarty has previously been dubbed ‘America’s wokest prosecutor’ for her soft-on-crime policies
The reason behind Minnesota’s vouching law is to help voters who have recently moved to a district be able to cast a ballot in a precinct where they are not yet registered.
While the process is intended to prevent voters from being disenfranchised, critics say it opens the window to election fraud.
O’Keefe, best known as the founder of Project Veritas, is seen in the videos dressed head-to-toe in white Muslim clothing, approaching poll workers and asking if he could vouch for unregistered voters.
In one interaction, O’Keefe put on a Middle Eastern accent as he asked: ‘I want to vouch… They are not registered, is that ok?’
‘That’s ok, that’s fine,’ the polling worker responded.
In another interaction, O’Keefe asked a poll worker how the vouching process worked, to which she said: ‘Well, if you’re all in the same precinct, and you are already registered, then you can vouch for them as ID for them.’
‘You are the ID,’ she added.
During the stunt, Higby used makeup to darken his skin colour, and he wore a full-length burqa to cover his face. At one point during the clip, O’Keefe joked that Higby resembled ‘a transgender.’
In O’Keefe and Higby’s videos, they showed themselves speaking to poll workers while pretending to be Muslim migrants
Higby (pictured) and O’Keefe are each facing felony charges of unlawful voting and identity theft
Higby dressed in a full burqa during the stunt
Higby and O’Keefe are facing felony charges of unlawful voting and identity theft, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
At a press conference on Wednesday announcing the charges, Moriarty accused the conservative activists of attempting to meddle in the state’s elections and undermine confidence in the results.
‘Free and fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and their protection is one of our highest priorities,’ Moriarty said.
The prosecutor said authorities tracked down the names that O’Keefe and Higby gave to poll workers, which she said included the names of deceased voters. Asked where they obtained the names, Moriarty said: ‘We don’t know that.’
O’Keefe and his attorneys have not yet responded to the charges, but Higby quickly spoke out on Wednesday to plead his innocence.
‘I never voted, I never signed an affidavit, and I never violated a law,’ Higby said in a statement.
‘For showing how Minnesota abuses votes, they seek to take mine away from me permanently.’
