James O'Keefe and associate charged with felony voter fraud in Minnesota
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James O'Keefe and influencer Cameron Higby were indicted on unlawful voting and identity-theft charges after a covert operation at Minneapolis polling places, underscoring how far-right political stunts can cross the line into alleged election crimes.
Conservative activist James O’Keefe, former Project Veritas employee and CEO of O’Keefe Media Group, and influencer Cameron Higby were charged Wednesday in Hennepin County with unlawful voting and identity theft. Prosecutors say the pair impersonated registered voters at Minneapolis polling stations during the August 11 primary, using disguises and false accents to hand election workers voter names without consent, in a reckless scheme dressed up as activism.
The operation targeted Minnesota’s vouching system, which allows registered voters to verify the residency of individuals seeking to register on Election Day. Neither man cast a ballot or signed the required vouching oath, and officials contend that misrepresenting their identities at the start of the voting process violated state law.
"The prosecution is an attack on First Amendment rights," O’Keefe said, describing the case as an assault on investigative journalism.
"We intended to expose vulnerabilities in the election system," Higby added, denying any wrongdoing.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the incident showed that the state’s mechanisms for detecting and responding to potential misconduct worked as designed, even when political operatives try to manufacture outrage through publicity stunts. State officials noted that the vouching process accounted for fewer than 0.6% of votes in the 2024 general election.
O’Keefe and Higby are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 16. No convictions have been entered at this stage.