Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury had indicted ten lawful permanent residents from various countries, including Liberia and Canada, for allegedly voting illegally in Minnesota elections over several years. The defendants are accused of lying about their citizenship status to register to vote in the 2022 and 2024 general elections and potentially other elections. Blanche emphasized that voter fraud undermines public trust in electoral systems and vowed to continue prosecution efforts under President Trump's administration, noting more than 90 people have been charged with voter fraud since he returned to office.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-30,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury in Minnesota had indicted ten lawful permanent residents accused of voting illegally or attempting to do so in multiple elections, including the state’s August 2026 primary. The defendants, originally from countries like Liberia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Bosnia, Germany, Ghana, and Lithuania, allegedly lied about their citizenship status to register and vote in the 2022 and 2024 general elections. Blanche emphasized the importance of ensuring only American citizens eligible to vote participate in U.S. elections, stating that voter fraud undermines public trust in the electoral system.
The Department of Justice under Trump’s administration has been actively pursuing cases related to noncitizen voting as part of its broader efforts to address perceived voter fraud concerns raised by President Trump. Despite claims from conservative think tanks like The Heritage Foundation about isolated instances of such fraud, experts point out that these incidents represent an extremely small fraction—0.000008%—of the total votes cast in U.S. elections since 1982.
Written for “Minnesota Voter Fraud Indictments” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday that a federal grand jury had indicted ten lawful permanent residents accused of voting illegally or attempting to do so in multiple Minnesota elections, including the state’s August 2026 primary.
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jury → announce → primary
The ten defendants — who are originally from Liberia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Bosnia, Germany, Ghana, and Lithuania — allegedly lied to election officials and told them they were U.S. citizens so they could register to vote.
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they → lie → them
They were accused of voting in the 2022 and 2024 general elections, according to court records.
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They → accuse → records
"Voter fraud erodes the public's trust in our electoral system, and it's vital to our democratic process that we do everything that we can to restore that trust," Blanche said in a press conference announcing the charges.
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Blanche → erode → charges
"The most basic way the Department of Justice can accomplish this restoration of trust is by working to make sure the only people voting in an election in the United States are American citizens who are eligible to vote.
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who → accomplish → States
The 10 defendants were charged separately.
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defendants → charge → ?
Bryant appears to be the only defendant who wasn't charged with voting illegally, only falsely claiming citizenship in 2024 in order to register.
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who → appear → 2024
Making a false citizenship claim to vote is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while voting by a noncitizen is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
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voting → make → prison
Blanche also expressed frustration that the media has, in his view, not taken the Justice Department's work prosecuting election fraud cases seriously to this point.
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media → express → point
"I don't know what the number is that will work for you guys.
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that → know → guys
Whether it's 106, maybe it's 120," he said, referring to a hypothetical number of investigations.
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he → say → investigations
""At some point it has to become meaningful to to the media."
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it → have → media
Blanche said that since President Donald Trump has returned to office, the Justice Department has charged more than 90 people with voter fraud offenses, including 50 illegal immigrants in the past five weeks.
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Department → say → weeks
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there have been 10 voter fraud-related convictions and that there are more than 1,600 active investigations into similar conduct across the country.
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Mullin → say → country
Mullin did not answer a reporter’s question about how the department plans to use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database, known as SAVE, to identify voters who may be ineligible ahead of the midterms.
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who → answer → midterms
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the administration may use the database for voter-eligibility checks while litigation continues.
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litigation → rule → checks
SAVE has historically been used to help government agencies verify whether noncitizens applying for public benefits are eligible to receive them.
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noncitizens → use → them
States’ use of the SAVE database is voluntary, but federal law generally bars states from conducting systematic voter-roll purges within 90 days of a federal election.
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law → bar → election
With the midterms less than a month away, the Supreme Court’s ruling is expected to have limited immediate impact.
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ruling → expect → impact
During the same press conference on Wednesday, Blanche also announced that the Justice Department had filed a judicial misconduct complaint with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals against several Minnesota federal judges who spoke with The New York Times about cases the department said were still pending.
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department → announce → cases
The article, published on Sept. 17, centered on an interview with Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, who said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated nearly 100 orders from the federal district court in Minnesota during the height of Operation Metro Surge, which saw hundreds of federal agents in the streets of Minneapolis throughout January of this year.
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hundreds → publish → year
Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, told The Times that the alleged violation of these orders likely came down to incompetence and staffing shortages at the Justice Department.
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violation → tell → Department
Blanche said Schiltz airing various complaints about the Trump administration to The Times was a violation of judicial canons and his ethical duties.
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Schiltz → say → canons
"We have asked the Eighth Circuit to conduct an investigation, and in the meantime, we ask that these judges recuse themselves from every case involving DHS, either criminal or civil in nature, because of the obvious bias they have shown in this article," Blanche said.
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Blanche → ask → article
Shiltz issued this response to Fox News, "As legal-ethics experts have confirmed, I was acting well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges in speaking to the New York Times.
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that → issue → Times
Indeed, in February of this year, the Committee on Codes of Conduct issued an advisory opinion to emphasize that federal judges may ‘speak[] and writ[e] on core judiciary matters such as advocacy for the rule of law and judicial independence.’
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judges → issue → law
That is exactly what I did."
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I → do → what
The Aporia
