Hennepin County Attorney charges O'Keefe Media commentators with identity theft and unlawful voting

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Wednesday that James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, members of the Florida-based O’Keefe Media Group, have been charged with identity theft and unlawful voting after a video showed them impersonating poll workers and attempting to demonstrate Minnesota’s voter-vouching rules during the state’s primary election.

The charges stem from a stunt in August in which a participant dressed in a burqa and another individual used an accent while trying to “vouch” for voters, actions the county prosecutors say constitute illegal impersonation and fraud.

Moriarty explained that her office learned of the incident through the Secretary of State’s office, which had been reviewing the video. She added that election judges documented the behavior and that the Minneapolis Police Department conducted an investigation, supplemented by a county investigator.

Minnesota’s vouching law permits only registered voters from the same precinct, or employees of authorized residential facilities, to sign an affidavit confirming a voter’s residency. Vouchers may not vouch for others, and a single voter can vouch for up to eight individuals in the same precinct.

The Department of Justice previously requested records on the state’s vouching system, but no further action has been taken.

"They have a very good process for having election judges document any unusual behavior, and so that was documented," Moriarty said.

O’Keefe and Higby have not responded to requests for comment, and their statements on the social media platform X have not been included in this report.