Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced felony charges today against investigative journalists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby for their actions in exposing vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s vouching system at election poling locations.
According to Moriarty, both men were charged with felony counts of “unlawful voting and identity theft,” and that the crimes were committed when the men verbally identified themselves as registered voters in the precinct, without the permission of those individuals. Moriarty confirmed that some of the names used were of deceased voters who remained on the voter rolls.
See Moriarty’s full press conference here:
O’Keefe and Higby never signed an oath needed to obtain a ballot, never obtained a ballot, never cast a ballot, never intended to defraud Minnesota’s voting system – instead they demonstrated just how vulnerable our voting system is in allowing a registered voter, without ID, to vouch for up to eight (8) additional voters, without ID’s, as they complete same day registration and vote.
The video O’Keefe and Higby posted to expose this vulnerability can be viewed below. The events were recorded secretly during the primary election day in Minneapolis on August 11th, 2026.
Minnesota statute 204C.14 makes it a felony for anyone to:
“…misrepresent the individual’s identity in applying for a ballot, depositing a ballot in a ballot box or attempting to vote by means of a voting machine or electronic voting system.”
On it’s face, it seems a very weak argument that exposing the vulnerability as O’Keefe and Higby did, constitutes “applying for a ballot” especially when they never attempted to actually receive a ballot.
Furthermore, the Minnesota Legislature added subdivision 2 to the statute. It reads:
“Signature on roster as evidence of intent. For purposes of proving a violation of this section, the signature of an individual on a polling place roster or voter signature certificate is prima facie evidence of the intent of the individual to vote at that election.”
The legislature doesn’t add language without a reason, and it seems clear that signing the roster is the evidence required to show the ballot application process was attempted – an action O’Keefe and Higby specifically avoided.
The exercise in charging O’Keefe and Higby with felonies is offensive in light of the many crimes Moriarty has either refused to charge or has undercharged during her four-year tenure as Hennepin County Attorney.
Both men have been summoned to appear in Hennepin County District Court for a future hearing.