James O'Keefe Charged Over Hidden-Camera Stunt at Minnesota Polls
Conservative activist James O'Keefe and fellow influencer Cam Higby are facing felony charges in Minnesota over a hidden-camera operation at Minneapolis polling places during the state's August primary.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charges Wednesday. Each man faces one count of identity theft and one count of unlawful voting. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
According to the criminal complaints, O'Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26, wore disguises and used hidden cameras as they gave poll workers the names and addresses of four registered voters at Minneapolis polling places on Aug. 11. The voters had not given them permission to use their identities.
Moriarty said the names used included deceased residents and at least one person who had already voted, MPR News reported. The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office alerted prosecutors to the activity.
"You cannot go into a polling place and misidentify yourself and use someone's identity and say that to our election judges as you apply for a ballot," Moriarty said.
The complaints do not allege that either man actually cast a ballot. Moriarty acknowledged, "I think it's pretty clear they did not intend to vote." She added, "It is not against the law to be performative. It is not against the law to be offensive."
Targeting Minnesota's Vouching Law
The two men later posted the hidden-camera videos online. In the footage, Higby wears a black face veil and O'Keefe wears a long white robe and skullcap, and O'Keefe uses an accent as he asks poll workers whether he can vouch for other voters. The men also use the videos to criticize Minnesota's voter vouching law, which allows someone to register at the polls on Election Day if a registered voter in the same precinct can vouch for where they live.
In an August post on X, O'Keefe said the goal was to "expose the sheer lunacy of Minnesota's 'vouching' system." He said the team entered polling places "disguised in traditional Muslim attire" and presented "an intentionally extreme scenario" to see "how far election workers would let us take it," Townhall reported.
According to O'Keefe's account, one poll worker said a registered voter could vouch for as many as eight people, and another told him, "You're the ID." When he asked whether voters' eligibility was checked, a worker allegedly replied, "After the fact, yeah." He also said some workers grew suspicious and challenged the team.
Neither man signed the vouching oath. Moriarty noted that doing so would have been felony perjury, but said misrepresenting yourself during registration is still a problem.
"Lawfare," Higby Says
Higby blasted the charges on X, calling them "lawfare" aimed at discouraging independent journalists from challenging election systems. He said he was trying to "expose vulnerabilities" in how Minnesota runs its elections.
"I never voted, I never signed an affidavit and I never violated a law," Higby said in a statement, according to The Washington Post.
O'Keefe did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His group, which calls itself the "Justice League," said in August that the people in the video "did not cast ballots."
Election Officials Push Back
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said poll workers did exactly what they were supposed to do. "Any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated," he said.
O'Keefe is best known as the founder of Project Veritas, the conservative group known for undercover sting videos targeting media outlets, political groups and others. He left the organization in 2023.
Both men are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Nov. 16.
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