Minnesota Charges James O’Keefe and Cam Higby With Felony Voting and Identity Theft After August Polling-Place Stunt

A Minnesota prosecutor charged conservative activist James O’Keefe and influencer Cam Higby on Wednesday with felony unlawful voting and identity theft for posing as registered voters at Minnesota polling places during the August primary as part of a hidden-camera stunt they later posted online.

O’Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26, filmed themselves visiting several precincts in Minneapolis and gave election judges the names of registered voters without those voters’ knowledge or permission, according to a criminal complaint reported by Reuters. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, the chief elected prosecutor in Minneapolis, announced the charges at a news conference.

The pair were attempting to use Minnesota’s vouching system, which allows a registered voter to confirm the residency of up to eight others so they can register and vote the same day, Moriarty said. Minnesota law allows a registered voter in a precinct to vouch for up to eight other voters, but only as proof of residence. The prospective voter must still provide a Minnesota driver’s license or ID number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number, to verify identity. Vouchers must sign an oath under penalty of perjury, and the form is retained for at least 22 months, according to Reuters.

What the videos showed, according to prosecutors

Neither man voted, and neither signed an oath attesting to the false identities, prosecutors said, according to The Wall Street Journal. Moriarty said the charges were appropriate because they started the process of receiving ballots using the names of registered voters, some of whom were dead. “You cannot begin to apply for a ballot and misrepresent yourself,” Moriarty told reporters.

A video O’Keefe posted on social media on August 13, two days after Minnesota’s primary, was followed by a version quoted in the criminal complaint that was posted on August 14 on YouTube with the title “I Wore Burqa To EXPOSE Election FRAUD In Minneapolis,” according to Reuters. In the video, Higby poses as a woman in a face-concealing burqa while O’Keefe, affecting an accent and using two false names, asked poll workers at multiple sites if he could vouch for his companions to register them so they could vote that day. The video shows the group leaving each site after asking the question without attempting to complete a registration.

Higby says in the video that he posed as a veiled Muslim woman in order to “point out the vulnerabilities in the system and how easily exploitable it is,” according to Reuters. The office of Secretary of State Steve Simon said in an August 14 statement that the video was heavily edited and reflected ignorance of Minnesota election law. In the 2024 general election, fewer than 0.6% of votes cast used the vouching process, according to Reuters.

Responses to the charges

Moriarty said at a news conference that the pair posted the videos to social media in an attempt to “cast doubt” on the state’s voting system. “Elections are the bedrock of democracy and their protection is one of our highest priorities,” she said in a statement. “Individuals engaging in unlawful conduct related to our elections will be held accountable.”

O’Keefe Media Group and Higby did not respond to requests for comment for the Reuters story, but have in the past characterized their activities as an attempt to expose the potential for fraud. Higby said on social media that the charges were “lawfare” and that he did not break any laws, according to The Wall Street Journal. “They want me in PRISON for exposing election vulnerabilities in their state,” he said.

Both men were issued summonses and are not currently in custody, Moriarty said, according to The Wall Street Journal. O’Keefe founded Project Veritas, a conservative activist group known for making videos targeting ideological opponents, and left the organization in 2023 before launching O’Keefe Media Group, according to Reuters.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.