Minnesota Files Felonies Over Primary Day Voting

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on Wednesday that her office has filed felony charges against James O'Keefe and Cam Higby. The charges stem from visits the two men made to polling places in Minneapolis on August 11. Moriarty accused them of unlawful voting and identity theft.

The prosecution alleges that O'Keefe and Higby used a Minnesota election procedure called vouching. This rule allows a registered voter in the same precinct to vouch for up to eight other voters. Moriarty stated that the men gave the names of registered voters who had not given permission for their names to be used. Some of the names belonged to people who had already died.

Moriarty noted that the men did not sign the standard oath before receiving a ballot. However, she argued that state law prohibits any individual from intentionally misrepresenting their identity when applying for a ballot. The prosecutor said her office learned of the conduct after Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon alerted her team. Police later interviewed the voters whose names appeared on the ballots.

The pair disguised themselves and filmed their visits with hidden cameras. They posted the footage on social media in August. O'Keefe wrote on X that the group wore Muslim garb, including a full-face veil known as a niqab, in one instance. He said the goal was to expose the flaws in the state's vouching system. Higby, who previously worked as a journalist for conservative media outlets, currently runs a YouTube channel with 285,000 subscribers.

Secretary of State Simon said in a statement that the men aimed to cast doubt on election laws that have been in effect for more than 50 years. He claimed they revealed ignorance of how the laws function while exposing themselves to legal trouble. Simon stated his office has zero tolerance for lying and disruptions at polling places.

O'Keefe founded Project Veritas before being removed from leadership in 2023. In 2024, he settled a lawsuit with a Pennsylvania postmaster after the group promoted false claims of voter fraud regarding the 2020 election. The current case arrives as President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that Democrats rig elections. His administration has sought voter roll lists from Democratic-controlled states to identify alleged noncitizen voters.

Moriarty said the two men are not currently in jail. They will receive a summons to appear in court in Minnesota. Neither O'Keefe nor Higby responded immediately to requests for comment regarding the new charges.