Two prominent conservative political operatives, James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, have been formally hit with felony charges of unlawful voting and identity theft following an undercover stunt staged at a Minnesota polling location last August, Hennepin County prosecutors announced this week. O’Keefe, the well-known founder of right-wing activist outlets Project Veritas and the later-established O’Keefe Media Group, and 26-year-old political commentator Higby are accused of orchestrating the provocative operation in a deliberate bid to erode public trust in Minnesota’s electoral infrastructure. According to court filings, the pair disguised themselves in Islamic attire and adopted fake accents while interacting with on-duty poll staff, allegedly attempting to obtain ballots by providing the full names of already registered voters in the precinct without those individuals’ explicit consent or prior knowledge. Prosecutors from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed that neither man completed the legally required address verification oath when approaching poll workers, emphasizing that both intentionally falsified their identities during the ballot application process. The stunt was designed to test a long-standing Minnesota electoral rule that permits registered local voters to vouch for the identity and residential status of up to eight other people, a policy crafted specifically to support newly relocated residents who may lack standard forms of voter ID. Higby, who spoke exclusively to the BBC to defend his actions, framed the operation as a public-interest effort to uncover critical gaps in the state’s voting framework that pose risks to all American voters. “I never cast a ballot, I never signed a formal voter affidavit, and I never broke any existing law,” Higby stated, arguing that state authorities are retaliating against him for exposing alleged administrative flaws by moving to permanently strip him of his own voting rights. Following the public release of the pair’s self-recorded footage, Higby posted a caption claiming that he had posed as a Muslim woman to demonstrate that Minneapolis poll staff were ready to permit him and a large group of non-citizens to cast fraudulent votes with no formal identity verification. Minnesota’s state election code explicitly prohibits any person from intentionally misrepresenting their identity when submitting a ballot application, depositing a completed ballot, or attempting to cast a vote via any electronic voting system. Steve Simon, Minnesota’s Secretary of State and top election official, issued a firm statement Wednesday condemning the activists’ actions. “Any deliberate effort to deceive or disrupt our dedicated election workers will never be tolerated,” Simon said. “Polling sites are the foundational backbone of our democratic system, and they must remain safe, peaceful spaces for all eligible voters to exercise their civic duty.” Both felony counts the two men face carry significant potential legal penalties, though no formal court appearance date has been publicly disclosed as of press time. The BBC has reached out to O’Keefe directly to request an official statement on the charges, but has not yet received a response.
US conservative activists charged with unlawful voting in election stunt
