Right-wing activists accused of multiple felonies in connection with voter-intimidation efforts, disinformation about mail-in ballots
- An arrest warrant has been issued for Jacob Wohl, a right-wing provocateur accused of voter intimidation in Michigan.
- Wohl and another man, John Burkman, are accused of "presenting false and misleading statements about mail-in voting" to Detroit-area residents.
- If convicted, the accused could face prison time.
The notorious right-wing trickster Jacob Wohl, already barred from Twitter and accused of fabricating sexual-assault claims against prominent Democrats, was charged with multiple felonies on Thursday over claims he tried to intimidate voters in the battleground state of Michigan.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told reporters that the scheme involved robocalls targeting Detroit and urban areas in at least four other states, the Associated Press reported. First uncovered in August, the effort is said to have entailed false claims that casting a ballot by mail would result in voters' information being forwarded to police officers and debt collectors.
"Don't be finessed into giving your private information to the man," the calls said. "Beware of vote by mail."
In a Thursday arrest warrant, Nessel's office formally accuses Wohl and another defendant, John Macauley Burkman, of "presenting false and misleading statements about mail-in voting in a telephone message." The charge carries a possible five-year prison sentence and $11,000 in fines.
Wohl, 22, and Burkman, 54, are also accused of using computers to "attempt to commit, conspire to commit, or solicit another to commit" voter intimidation, which is punishable by seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to the complaint.
Nessel said the pair, who are avowed supporters of President Donald Trump, carried out some 85,000 calls across the US including in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and New York.
Wohl and Burkman denied the allegations in August but, in the wake of the arrest warrant, could not be reached for comment.
It is far from Wohl's first brush with infamy. As a high-school student in Corona, California, he was implicated in a financial-fraud scheme that resulted in a lifetime ban from the National Futures Association, though the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to take any enforcement action.
Wohl and his codefendant, Burkman, were also involved in an effort to fabricate an allegation of sexual assault against the former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, The Daily Beast reported earlier this year.
In 2018, Wohl and Burkman were also accused of crafting a similar plot against the special counsel Robert Mueller.
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