DOJ Charges 10 Green-Card Holders in Minnesota — One Voted in This Month’s Primary

A federal grand jury in Minnesota has indicted 10 lawful permanent residents for illegal voting or false claims of citizenship when they registered, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen. Nine of the defendants are accused of casting ballots. One of those alleged votes was in the Aug. 11, 2026, primary. The indictments were returned Sept. 24. All 10 have made initial appearances. It is the latest in a run of noncitizen-voting cases the Justice Department has been bringing almost weekly. Blanche said the department has charged 90 people with voter-related fraud offenses since President Trump returned to office, 50 of them in the last five weeks. Wednesday’s announcement was the sixth of its kind this month.

The defendants are green-card holders from Brazil, Ghana, Liberia, Lithuania, Bosnia, Germany, Canada, and South Africa. They are not charged as illegal aliens. Federal law already bars noncitizens, including permanent residents, from voting in federal elections. The indictments allege nine counts of voting by an alien and nine counts of making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to register or vote. Voting by a noncitizen is a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. A false citizenship claim to vote is a felony carrying up to five years and a $250,000 fine. At least three of the Minnesota defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Named in court papers are Bhator Konah Bryant, 61, of Liberia, charged with a false citizenship claim when she registered on Oct. 18, 2024, and not with casting a ballot; Edvile Vaidoto Edmunds, 59, of Lithuania, alleged to have voted Nov. 8, 2022; and Joshua Frederick Kofi Edzie, 63, of Ghana, alleged to have voted Aug. 11, 2026, and to have made false citizenship claims on Oct. 23, 2024, and on primary day. Seven others are charged with voting as noncitizens on Nov. 5, 2024: Alan Barbu Kargbo, 48, Liberia; Paul Kras, 78, Germany; Fadil Rasim Ozegovic, 58, Bosnia; Aparecido Donizetti Padovan, 62, Brazil; Chris Adam Pettiquoi, 43, Liberia; Christian Liam Schenk, 47, Canada; and Hester Sophia Weihmann, 69, South Africa. Weihmann, a Cambridge resident who has held a green card since 2015, already faced a state felony case in Isanti County after election officials told her she was ineligible and she inactivated her record, according to that complaint. The federal papers do not list precincts or how each person obtained a ballot.

“The law is clear, only American citizens may vote in American elections, and enforcing this law is fundamental to our democracy. That should not be a partisan concept,” Blanche said. “Today’s charges allege that ten foreign nationals committed voter fraud in Minnesota, one voting illegally as recently as this August’s primary.” He said elections are often decided by small margins and that “the most basic way” to restore trust is to make sure only eligible citizens vote. Rosen said, “Voting in American elections is a privilege of American citizenship. Stealing that privilege is a crime. When, in order to obtain a ballot, a non-citizen swears he or she is a citizen, we will prosecute.” He added: “In Minnesota, if you’re not a citizen, do not try to vote.” Rosen also said the cases arise from “a general tolerance for fraud” in the state. Mullin said Homeland Security Investigations has 1,620 voter-fraud cases open, with 100 administrative arrests, 53 criminal arrests, 37 indictments, and 10 convictions tied to illegal voting. The New York Post, citing officials, reported the Biden-era Justice Department brought 13 similar cases over four years.

Federal law has prohibited noncitizen voting in federal elections for decades. Minnesota does not require documentary proof of citizenship at registration. The SAVE America Act, which would require that proof and a photo ID to vote in federal elections, has passed the House and remains stalled in the Senate. Blanche and Mullin presented the Minnesota cases as part of a nationwide charging push rather than a one-state anomaly. Hundreds of investigations are still open, they said. Midterms are Nov. 3.