The Radical Reading Room

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on October 28 that her office had charged James O’Keefe and Cam Higby with felonies over videos they filmed at Minnesota polling places. The videos, recorded in August and later posted on social media, showed the men testing how election workers handled the state’s voter-vouching process.

The reports say O’Keefe and Higby visited multiple Minneapolis-area polling locations during the state primary and posed as voters. In the videos, they asked about a process that allows a registered voter to vouch for other people; both accounts describe the limit as eight people. The reports also say the men wore traditional attire while filming.

Moriarty’s office said the men misrepresented their identities while applying for ballots. The reports say they did not sign the required oath, but prosecutors argued that their conduct nonetheless violated state law. The announced charges are felonies; the supplied reports do not provide a court ruling on the allegations.

Higby disputed the accusation, saying no laws had been broken and describing the charges as a response to his video. Moriarty’s office framed the case as enforcement against unlawful conduct involving elections, while Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said attempts to deceive election workers would not be tolerated. The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.