Conservative activist James O’Keefe and independent content creator Cam Higby are facing felony charges in Minnesota after a stunt at a Minneapolis polling place meant to spotlight what they viewed as a weakness in the state’s election law.
State prosecutors charged the pair Wednesday with unlawful voting and identity theft. Each felony carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Prosecutors cited as evidence a video O’Keefe himself posted showing his interactions with poll workers.
The stunt targeted a Minnesota law that allows a registered voter to vouch for the identity of up to eight other voters who have recently moved, letting them cast ballots at precincts where they are not yet registered.
Prosecutors say O’Keefe impersonated registered Minnesota voters while talking with poll workers, though no votes were actually cast fraudulently. Under state law, unlawful voting can include an attempt to obtain a ballot by impersonating a registered voter.
During the prank, the two men wore mock Islamic attire, used fake Arab accents and made references to Muslim culture. Higby wore black garments covering his face and head, prompting O’Keefe to joke in the video that he resembled a “transgender wearing a burqa.”
“Free and fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and their protection is one of our highest priorities,” said Mary Moriarty, the top prosecutor in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, who condemned the accents and cultural references as offensive, ripped the pair in an August statement. “We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking and disruptions at our polling places,” Simon said.
Efforts to reach O’Keefe, Higby or their legal representatives were not immediately successful.
The charges come amid a national battle over election security. This month, the Justice Department charged more than four dozen people in five states with vote fraud, including 28 in California. The Trump administration has also been pushing Minnesota and several other states to turn over voter rolls with sensitive information, arguing federal officials need the data to prevent fraud. States fighting that effort in federal court have so far won across the board.
Minnesota’s vouching law has been on the books for more than 50 years. Simon’s office says it has strong safeguards and that fewer than 0.6% of voters used it to cast ballots in the 2024 general election. Voters using it must provide a document such as a Minnesota driver’s license and the last four digits of their Social Security number. The system is commonly used by senior living residents who haven’t updated their addresses.
This isn’t O’Keefe’s first legal entanglement. In 2010, the Project Veritas founder pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges after posing as a telephone repairman to enter then-Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office. In 2013, New Hampshire’s attorney general investigated him over allegedly using dead people’s names at polling places, but no charges were filed. In 2021, the FBI searched his home and seized his phone in its probe into Ashley Biden’s stolen diary. He was detained but never charged.
Project Veritas’ board fired O’Keefe in 2023, accusing him of “financial malfeasance.” He has since launched O’Keefe Media Group and is scheduled to host a journalism awards gala at Mar-a-Lago next month.
Higby, originally from New York state, is an independent YouTuber and podcaster with 285,000 subscribers. Late last year, he took part in a White House round table on Antifa and left-wing activism and was later credentialed as a member of the Pentagon press corps.
