California residents accused by feds of voter fraud react with shock, confusion and anger
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- Several green card holders arrested in a Trump administration crackdown on alleged California voter fraud appeared in court Monday, with some saying they had no recollection of ever registering to cast ballots.
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they → accuse → ballots
- Federal prosecutors charged 28 people with election-related crimes, including fraudulent voter registration and making false statements in a naturalization application.
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prosecutors → charge → application
- Election experts have said many instances of noncitizens registering to vote are a result of administrative error or confusion on the part of the immigrant — not intentional criminality.
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noncitizens → say → immigrant
At the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles late Monday, several green card holders arrested in a crackdown on alleged California voter fraud expressed confusion over the charges — with some saying they had no recollection of registering to vote, as Trump administration officials accuse them of doing.
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officials → arrest → them
Among them was Ana Domínguez, 60, a native of El Salvador living in Long Beach as a lawful permanent resident.
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Domínguez → live → resident
Federal authorities accused her Monday of fraudulently registering to vote in July 2006 and then lying about it in her naturalization paperwork in March 2026.
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authorities → accuse → March
Domínguez said she did not have any memory of registering to vote.
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she → say → memory
Another man accused of the same crimes as Domínguez said the same: He wasn’t aware of ever registering to vote, as federal prosecutors claimed he had.
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he → accuse → same
Both were among the 28 people charged with federal election-related crimes Monday, including fraudulent voter registration and making false statements in a naturalization application.
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Both → charge → application
Federal prosecutors and high-ranking Justice Department officials had touted the arrests during a news conference hours before as proof that California elections are corrupted by noncitizen voters — as President Trump has long alleged.
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Trump → rank → voters
Federal authorities charge 28 people in California with alleged illegal voter registration or voting, escalating the Trump administration’s fight with state election officials.
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authorities → charge → officials
State officials said the isolated instances of noncitizens voting, if accurate, are not evidence of widespread voter fraud.
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noncitizens → say → fraud
They also raised questions as to whether the charges could be trusted to be accurate — citing similar accusations being disproved elsewhere in the country.
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charges → raise → country
Election experts have said many instances of noncitizens registering to vote are a result of administrative error or confusion on the part of the immigrant — not intentional criminality.
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noncitizens → say → immigrant
“We know from past experience that sometimes people register to vote accidentally, as when there is a mistake at the DMV,” Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, wrote Monday in a blog post.
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Hasen → know → post
“There is only a crime if the government can prove willful violations of federal law.”
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government → be → law
Four of the defendants charged Monday had initial court appearances later that afternoon.
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Four → charge → appearances
Beforehand, more than a dozen of their loved ones milled around the federal courthouse in downtown L.A., antsy and clearly worried.
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dozen → love → L.A.
One woman, her baby and young daughter in tow, struggled to find the right courtroom.
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woman → struggle → courtroom
Another woman, Domínguez’s daughter, cried in the hallway as she waited for her mother’s case to get called up.
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case → cry → hallway
When Domínguez moved to stand before the judge, she blew a kiss to her husband and daughter in the second row.
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she → move → row
She wore a black back brace and her legs were cuffed.
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legs → wear → brace
A third defendant — Omar Muñoz, 72, a lawful permanent resident from Belize whose arrest at his home in Commerce was captured by photographers in images transmitted around the world — shuffled into a court room shackled at the waist, his feet cuffed, still wearing the red and black pajama pants he’d been arrested in.
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he → capture → pants
Muñoz was charged with fraudulently registering to vote in September 2019, and then voting in 2020, twice in 2022 and again in 2024.
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Muñoz → charge → 2024
He is also accused of lying on his application to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, when he claimed to have never falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen in the past.
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he → accuse → past
In the courtroom, Muñoz held a hand over his heart as he waved to his family in the first row of the gallery.
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he → hold → gallery
Hasen, the UCLA expert, wrote that the government’s blasting out images of Muñoz being arrested was clearly “meant to convey that the problem of noncitizen voting in California is both pervasive and serious, crimes that are undetected by willfully ignorant California election officials.”
But the reality, he wrote, “is likely far different,” with voter fraud limited to isolated cases, some with less nefarious intent.
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fraud → write → intent
First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said Monday that the cases represent strong federal work to ensure that noncitizens aren’t negating the votes of eligible U.S. voters — a problem he said California officials have refused to recognize despite federal authorities providing the proof.
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authorities → say → proof
Essayli dismissed the idea that those charged may have been unaware of what they were doing.
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they → dismiss → what
“You have to go out of your way to register to vote; it’s not something that just happens to you,” Essayli said.
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Essayli → have → you
José Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz, 42, a Mexican national and West Adams resident, appeared in court wearing a reflective vest with the name of a landscaping company, blue jeans and boots with the American flag on them.
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Díaz → appear → them
He’d been on his way to work when he was arrested.
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he → arrest → work
During the hearings, the defendants spoke only to acknowledge that they reviewed and understood the charges against them.
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they → speak → them
In every case, the federal prosecutor said the government was not seeking detention.
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government → say → detention
In the last week, Justice Department and California election officials have been locked in a contentious standoff over alleged election fraud.
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Department → lock → fraud
The magistrate judge ordered the four released on personal recognizance and said they were not required to be under supervision.
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they → order → supervision
They are all set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing Nov. 9.
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They → set → hearing
Their deputy federal public defenders did not respond to a request for comment.
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defenders → respond → comment
Lliani Orantes, Muñoz’s daughter and a nurse who was born in the U.S., said her father had been hauled out of the family home by federal authorities after they swarmed and cordoned off the block.
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they → bear → block
She said the family was rushing to figure out what happened, including whether Muñoz could have been confused with younger relatives of the same name, including a U.S.-born son who is a registered voter.
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who → say → son
…and 34 more, not listed.
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