Minnesota Prosecutors Charge O'Keefe and Higby With Felony Voting Stunt

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced felony charges on Wednesday against conservative influencer James O'Keefe and Cam Higby. The charges stem from actions taken at Minnesota polling places on August 11 during the state's primary election.

Moriarty stated that the two men entered voting locations and claimed to be registered voters in those precincts. She noted that the actual voters did not authorize the use of their names. "Both men stopped short of signing the oath we all sign before receiving our ballot," Moriarty said. "But Minnesota law states clearly that no individual shall intentionally misrepresent their identity in applying for a ballot."

The pair utilized a state procedure called vouching. This process allows a registered voter in a precinct to vouch for up to eight other voters. It also permits staff at residential facilities to vouch for their residents. O'Keefe and Higby disguised themselves and recorded their visits with hidden cameras before releasing the footage on social media in August.

O'Keefe wrote on X that they wore "Muslim garb," including a full-face veil known as a niqab in one instance. He described the aim as exposing the "sheer lunacy" of Minnesota's vouching system. Police interviewed the registered voters whose names were used, Moriarty said, and investigators also found that the names of deceased voters were included. She said her office does not know how the men obtained the names.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon alerted Moriarty's office to the incident. Simon issued a statement saying the men's goal was to cast doubt on election laws that have been in force for over fifty years. He said they revealed their ignorance of how those laws work. "We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking, and disruptions at our polling places," Simon said. The men are not in jail and will receive a summons to appear in court.

O'Keefe has faced similar controversies previously. In 2024, he and Project Veritas settled a lawsuit with a Pennsylvania postmaster over claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. O'Keefe was removed as head of Project Veritas in 2023. Higby formerly worked as a journalist for conservative outlets and currently runs a YouTube channel with 285,000 subscribers. Neither man responded immediately to requests for comment.

The charges arrive as President Donald Trump has alleged for years that Democrats have committed voter fraud. His administration has sought voter roll lists from Democratic-controlled states to identify alleged noncitizen voters.