Five voter fraud prosecutions filed by Trump DOJ ahead of 2026 midterms

Federal prosecutors brought five voter fraud cases this week, including arrests of non-citizens who allegedly voted in 2022 and 2024 elections.

Trump Justice Department charges five individuals with voter fraud before midterms

The Trump administration announced on Friday that federal prosecutors had brought five voter fraud cases during the course of the week, nbcnews.com reports. Homeland Security Investigations released video footage of agents arresting one defendant at an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

In the footage, a woman in pyjamas asks agents why they have come. "Voting," one of the agents replies. The video then shows agents placing a chain around her waist and handcuffing her before she enters a vehicle.

The woman, 30-year-old Katya Rodriguez, is one of three individuals charged in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, each facing a felony count. A federal grand jury separately indicted a husband and wife — 68-year-old Thomas Holtzman and 50-year-old Marisol Guzman — on allegations that Guzman voted illegally in the 2024 election. Holtzman, an American citizen, was charged with aiding and abetting in connection with his wife's alleged vote. Charging documents in those cases were not publicly available.

Two further individuals, in New Jersey and Wisconsin, face misdemeanour charges of "voting as an alien." Mercedes Alexandra Cardoso, a lawful permanent resident from Ecuador living in New Jersey, allegedly cast a ballot in person during the June 2024 primary election. Jesus Javier Jurado Garcia, a 25-year-old originally from Mexico, allegedly voted as a non-citizen in the 2022 election in Wisconsin.

Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement emphasising the seriousness of election offences. "The integrity of our elections, which are fundamental to democracy, should be of utmost importance to every American," Blanche said. "It is a cherished right for eligible American citizens, and only eligible American citizens, to vote for their representatives in government. Election fraud is a serious crime, and it is the duty of the Department of Justice to treat it as such."

FBI Director Kash Patel stated that "election integrity for the American people is one of the top priorities for this FBI," adding that the bureau would "not hesitate to use all available resources to investigate every credible allegation of election fraud and illegal voting."

The announcements come despite the Trump administration having struggled during both terms to produce cases demonstrating evidence of widespread voter fraud. That is in spite of a broad effort in Trump's second term to obtain voter registration records from states in an attempt to identify any non-citizens registered to vote. Trump has repeatedly made false claims that he won the 2020 election and has also falsely claimed victory in the 2016 popular vote.

Trump, who faced federal criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat ahead of the 6 January Capitol attack — charges dropped after he won the 2024 election — said earlier this year that Republicans should "nationalise the voting."

Democrats have responded by launching what party officials describe as an "unprecedented" effort to counter potential disruption to the 2026 midterm elections.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)