MINNEAPOLIS — Conservative provocateur James O’Keefe and fellow online commentator Cam Higby face felony charges of identity theft and unlawful voting in Minnesota after allegedly posing as registered residents at Minneapolis voting stations, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty detailed the allegations during an afternoon press conference, stating that the pair entered multiple polling locations throughout the Aug. 11 state primary. According to prosecutors, the men gave election judges the names of actual registered voters—as well as deceased individuals—without permission as part of an undercover recording project.
“Minnesota law states clearly that no individual shall intentionally misrepresent their identity in applying for a ballot,” Moriarty told reporters, NBC News reported. While neither defendant signed the sworn oath required to obtain a ballot, the prosecutor emphasized that offering fraudulent identities to initiate the process violated state law.
The undercover voting stunt
The charges stem from an effort to challenge Minnesota’s election rules, specifically a measure known as vouching. Under state regulations in place for over five decades, a registered voter may vouch for the residence and eligibility of up to eight neighbors who lack updated identification documents.
According to footage the pair released on social media platforms in mid-August, O’Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26, appeared at precinct sites wearing disguises that O’Keefe described online as traditional Muslim attire. Higby wore a full-face veil, with O’Keefe telling poll workers that Higby was his wife. The pair spoke with fake accents while attempting to navigate the vouching procedure, ABC News reported.
Poll workers found the pair’s conduct suspicious, prompting election judges to raise concerns over handheld radios and alert authorities. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office subsequently forwarded the matter to law enforcement for criminal review.
Secretary of State Steve Simon strongly denounced the stunt, calling the behavior unacceptable and emphasizing that election venues must remain calm and safe. “We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking, and disruptions at our polling places,” Simon said in a statement cited by NBC News.
Data from Simon’s office indicates that vouching is rarely utilized, accounting for less than 0.6 percent of ballots cast during the November 2024 general election. The process primarily assists elderly residents or citizens who have moved but have not yet updated their driver’s licenses.
Reactions and next legal steps
In statements issued through the O’Keefe Media Group, the organizers maintained they created an extreme scenario simply to test how election staff would enforce state regulations. Higby forcefully criticized the charges on social media Wednesday, branding the prosecution as “lawfare” and asserting that no laws were breached during their reporting, The Guardian reported.
David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, observed to ABC News that while vouching has not shown any history of coordinated fraud, impersonating another registered voter constitutes a grave offense.
O’Keefe gained national prominence through undercover hidden-camera sting operations with Project Veritas, a conservative group he founded and was ousted from in 2023. Higby, a former conservative news reporter, operates an independent YouTube channel with roughly 285,000 subscribers.
Neither man was placed in custody following the announcements on Wednesday. Moriarty confirmed that both defendants will receive court summonses requiring them to travel to Minnesota to face formal arraignment. Neither defendant had designated an attorney of record in court filings or entered a plea as of Wednesday evening.
