Investigative journalists James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby are facing felony charges brought by Minneapolis prosecutors after publishing a video that sought to expose vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s election system. The charges followed footage recorded during the state’s August primary.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced [1] the charges Wednesday against O’Keefe, 42, and Higby, 26. Moriarty accused the conservative media personalities of attempting to undermine confidence in Minnesota’s voting procedures.
Why are comments turned off?
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) October 29, 2026 [2]
The journalists recorded Higby entering polling locations while dressed in Muslim clothing. Their stated purpose was to demonstrate how Minnesota’s voter vouching system could potentially be abused by registered voters seeking to establish another person’s eligibility.
According to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website, a registered voter may vouch for as many as eight other people from the same precinct. O’Keefe and Higby focused their investigation on that process.
In the resulting video, Higby entered a polling place wearing a burqa over his face. The footage was presented as evidence that election workers were prepared to allow him to cast a ballot in a woman’s name and vouch for O’Keefe, who was also disguised.
I wore a burqa to a Minneapolis polling station and the poll worker was going to allow me to VOTE IN A WOMAN’S NAME.
She was also going to allow me to vouch for another unregistered “muslim” in that persons name.
Full vid on YT: https://t.co/IDZZwRKm9H https://t.co/1DfqKcOyGK
— Cam Higby (@camhigby) August 14, 2026 [3]
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office took a sharply different view of the journalists’ actions. Prosecutors portrayed the episode not as an investigation of election vulnerabilities, but as an attempt to deceive election workers and damage public confidence.
“Mr. O’Keefe and Mr. Higby filmed themselves and posted the videos to social media to try to sow doubt about Minnesota’s secure voting systems,” a press release from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office reads.
Neither O’Keefe nor Higby actually voted during the incident. Even so, both men were charged with unlawful voting and identity theft during the Wednesday press conference led by Moriarty, who has financial ties to leftist billionaire George Soros.
“If you identify as a journalist, there is no such thing as undercover investigation in the polling place,” Moriarty said. “You have to identify yourself as a journalist in the polling place, which they did not do.”
Moriarty maintained that the decision to bring felony charges was unrelated to the men’s conservative politics. She also acknowledged that their statements and conduct would not necessarily have been illegal outside the polling place.
“It is not against the law to be offensive. It’s not against the law to say the things that they said if you’re standing outside the polling place,” Moriarty said.
“So, no, we can’t let people’s political bent or whatever they’re here to do affect our decisions in deciding whether to issue felony charges,” she stated.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon also backed the response to O’Keefe and Higby. He said polling places “are the heart of our democracy and as such should be places of safety and peace.”
“Any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for holding these individuals to account,” Simon concluded.
Simon had used even harsher language about the episode in August. “The misconduct by this group is outrageous and totally unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking and disruptions at our polling places.”
Higby answered the charges by launching a fundraising effort on social media and accusing Minnesota authorities of trying to intimidate independent journalists. He characterized the prosecution as an attack on reporters willing to challenge those in power.
“This is lawfare. They want to scare all independent journalists who may challenge them. This is FASCISM,” Higby wrote.
I showed how Minnesota allows cheating in elections.
Now they want to TAKE MY RIGHT TO VOTE AWAY. This is lawfare. They want to scare all independent journalists who may challenge them. This is FASCISM.
https://t.co/fmb6v33F0T
— Cam Higby (@camhigby) October 28, 2026 [4]
In a follow-up post on X, Higby declared, “Fascists lock up journalists.” He later added, “I am not afraid of Minnesota,” and called Moriarty a “vile, disgusting coward.”
James O’Keefe on the Felony Charges for Exposing Fraud in Minnesota:
This is not political. It is fundamental. It is about whether citizens still have the right to question their government. This is now a landmark First Amendment case, and every American’s right to speak truth to power has been put on the line.
Weaponized lawfare does not work against me. It has always backfired on the people who come after me. Most people find criminal charges and lawsuits stressful; the process becomes a form of punishment. But I love this process because it gives me the opportunity to expose injustice at the highest levels. My foundation will be indemnifying members of the Justice League, including @camhigby for their lawful reporting.
I’m calling on all Americans, and especially all journalists, to stand united on a message to the prosecutors in Minnesota: the politics of fear will not prevail in the United States of America.
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) October 29, 2026 [5]
The felony prosecution now places the journalists’ undercover election investigation at the center of a legal fight over conduct inside Minnesota polling places.