Hennepin County Attorney Indicts Journalists Over Voter Security Exposé

Mary Moriarty, the Democratic Hennepin County Attorney, has just indicted two conservative journalists, Cam Higby and James O'Keefe, with felony charges. The crime? Exposing Minnesota’s lax voter security protocols. For years, the political left and its allied media outlets have accused President Trump of persecuting the press. Now, watching a prosecutor weaponize the law against reporters for doing their jobs, the silence from that same crowd is deafening. This is not a gray area. Moriarty is illegally charging two individuals for exercising their First Amendment rights, a move that crosses a dangerous red line.

The stakes here are high. Every illegal vote strips a legal citizen of their voice. Basic arithmetic demands that election integrity rests on public confidence in the system’s security. We saw this play out in Colorado, where Tina Peters faced nearly a decade in prison for revealing serious election flaws until Democratic Governor Jared Polis commuted her sentence. Higby and O'Keefe followed a similar path. They sought to test the vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s voting infrastructure. Higby, wearing a burqa, posed as a registered voter and vouched for a companion he claimed was also registered. He filmed the entire exchange to show his audience just how easily the system could be manipulated.

The footage is clear. Higby never presented photo identification. His word alone cleared his companion, who also produced no ID. To be precise, neither man cast a ballot. The goal was purely demonstrative: to highlight how accessible the process is to potential fraudsters. In the context of the tightening U.S. Senate race between Republican Michele Tafoya and far-left Democrat Peggy Flanagan, this scrutiny matters. The outcome of that race could determine control of the Senate chamber. Federal law limits ballots to American citizens. Only lawful voters should participate.

What Higby and O'Keefe engaged in was vintage investigative journalism, not voter fraud. The First Amendment exists to protect exactly this kind of oversight. If prosecutors can punish undercover reporting with felony charges, the Fourth Estate will shrink in fear. No one wants to investigate insecure ballot safeguards if the reward is prison time. This chilling effect threatens the very core of a free press.

Moriarty, however, seems indifferent to these constitutional principles. She appears driven by a desire for plaudits from top Democratic brass, willing to imprison reporters to achieve it. Her selective application of the law is stark. Consider the case of Turning Point USA activist Savannah Hernandez. Three agitators assaulted her in front of witnesses and on camera. Moriarty pursued only misdemeanor charges, a slap on the wrist. Federal prosecutors eventually stepped in to file felony charges against the attackers. Yet, Moriarty now seeks to convict Higby and O'Keefe of serious crimes. They attacked no one. They did not vote illegally. They did not even attempt to vote.

This abuse of power demands a federal response. Under 18 U.S.C. § 242, it is a crime to willfully deprive anyone of their constitutional rights under color of law. The Trump Justice Department must immediately open a civil rights case against Moriarty and others for conspiring to violate the rights of Higby and O'Keefe under 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242. If the evidence supports it, which seems obvious, Moriarty should face federal charges right away. Anything less turns a blind eye to an open season on America’s free press.

Section 241 criminalizes conspiracy to commit these acts. Attorney General Lori Moriarty ought to target ballot box fraudsters and the individuals responsible for billions in fraudulent Medicaid claims. Instead, she is pursuing two journalists who simply did their jobs by exposing how weak Minnesota’s election security actually is. The Soros network appears to be rebuilding its push for progressive prosecutors following a string of election losses. Higby and O'Keefe should not face criminal charges. But Moriarty and her co-conspirators must. Indicting them would send a resounding message to Soros-backed and other leftist district attorneys across the nation: lawfare will carry dire legal consequences. Prosecutors must meet the highest standards. After all, as the left intoned during the anti-Trump lawfare years, no one is above the law.