Hennepin County prosecutors have filed felony charges against journalists James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby after the pair recorded themselves entering Minneapolis-area polling places in disguise during Minnesota’s August primary.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charges Wednesday, accusing O’Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26, of unlawful voting and identity theft. Neither man actually cast a ballot.
In the video, Higby is shown entering a polling location wearing a burqa that covered his face, demonstrating how election workers appeared willing to let him cast a ballot under a woman’s name and to vouch for O’Keefe, who was also disguised. Under Minnesota law, as outlined on the Secretary of State’s website, a registered voter can vouch for the eligibility of up to eight other people from the same precinct.
“Mr. O’Keefe and Mr. Higby filmed themselves and posted the videos to social media to try to sow doubt about Minnesota’s secure voting systems,” the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
At the press conference, Moriarty said the men’s status as journalists did not exempt them from election law. “If you identify as a journalist, there is no such thing as undercover investigation in the polling place,” she said. “You have to identify yourself as a journalist in the polling place, which they did not do.”
Moriarty rejected the suggestion that the charges were politically motivated. “It is not against the law to be offensive. It’s not against the law to say the things that they said if you’re standing outside the polling place,” she said. “So, no, we can’t let people’s political bent or whatever they’re here to do affect our decisions in deciding whether to issue felony charges.”
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon also weighed in, calling polling places “the heart of our democracy” that should remain “places of safety and peace.” “Any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for holding these individuals to account,” Simon said.
In August, shortly after the video surfaced, Simon had used stronger language, describing the pair’s conduct as “outrageous and totally unacceptable” and saying the state had “zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking and disruptions at our polling places.”
Higby responded to the charges by launching a social media fundraising effort, calling the prosecution “lawfare” meant to intimidate independent journalists. “Fascists lock up journalists,” he wrote on X, adding, “I am not afraid of Minnesota,” and describing Moriarty as a “vile, disgusting coward.”
O’Keefe had not issued a public statement on the charges as of publication.
