LANSING, Mich. — Two political operatives were arraigned Thursday in Detroit on multiple felony charges surrounding voter intimidation.
According to the Michigan Attorney General's Office, Jack Burkman, a 54 year-old from Alrington, Virginia and Jacob Wohl, a 22 year-old from Los Angeles, California, allegedly used a robocall to target urban areas with significant minority populations, in an effort to intimidate voters amid the November election.
Burkman and Wohl turned themselves into law enforcement at the Detroit Detention Center early this morning. Both subjects have been charged with the following:
- Election law – intimidating voters, a five-year felony;
- Conspiracy to commit an election law violation, a five-year felony;
- Using a computer to commit the crime of election law – intimidating voters, a seven-year felony; and
- Using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy, a seven-year felony.
Charges against the two were filed Oct. 1, following an investigation by the Michigan Attorney General's office. If convicted, the defendants could spend up to 12 years in prison. Bail was set at $100,000 cash or surety, for each man.
The robocalls were made in late August. The Attorney General's Office believe around 85,000 robocalls were made nationally, with nearly 12,000 targeting residents with phone numbers from Detroit's 313 area code.
The caller claimed to be associated with an organization founded by Burkman and Wohl and spread misinformation that mail-in voting would allow their personal information to enter into a special database to be used by police and credit card companies to track old warrants and outstanding debt. In addition, the caller falsely claims the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will use the information to track people for mandatory vaccines.
Residents in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois have also reported the robocall.
In a release, the Michigan Attorney General's Office said,
"There is very little, if any, evidence to substantiate claims that mail-in ballots lead to fraud, as many states have successfully conducted the process for years. Michigan has had absentee voting for more than 60 years. In November 2018, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved Proposal 3, which amended Michigan’s Constitution and gave all Michigan voters the constitutional right to vote by absentee ballot without excuse."
Both Burkman and Wohl's probable cause conference is scheduled for Oct. 15.
The Attorney General is encouraging anyone who received this call around August to file a complaint by calling 517-335-7650.
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