MINNEAPOLIS — Ten foreign nationals face federal charges for allegedly voting illegally or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register to vote in Minnesota elections, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The indictments were returned by a federal grand jury on September 24 as 10 separate cases and announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota. They include nine counts of illegal voting by a noncitizen and nine counts of falsely claiming citizenship to register.
The alleged conduct spans the 2022 and 2024 general elections, along with Minnesota's August primary this year, according to prosecutors. The defendants are nationals of Liberia, Lithuania, Ghana, Germany, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa. All 10 hold lawful permanent resident status, according to reports on the announcement.
Among the cases detailed in the Justice Department's release: a Ghanaian national is accused of voting in this year's August primary, and a Lithuanian woman faces a count tied to the 2022 general election. Hester Sophia Weihmann, 69, a South African national, is charged with one count of making a false claim of citizenship in order to vote and one count of voting by a noncitizen, accused of voting illegally in Minnesota and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote on November 5, 2024.
"Voting in American elections is a privilege of American citizenship," U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in the announcement. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who announced the charges at a Washington press conference Wednesday, said enforcing the ban is fundamental to democracy. "That should not be a partisan concept," he said.
Blanche said more than 90 people have been formally accused of some form of voter fraud since President Trump returned to the White House. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his agency is investigating more than 1,600 voting fraud cases in total. A Department of Homeland Security review earlier this year found as many as 278,000 non-citizens are currently registered to vote in U.S. elections, though it remains unclear how many have cast ballots.
A false claim of citizenship to vote carries up to five years in prison; voting by a noncitizen is a misdemeanor carrying up to one year. The cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.
An indictment is only an accusation. Every defendant is presumed innocent until the government proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- National Correspondent Network
