US Justice Department indicts 10 non-citizens over alleged illegal voting in Minnesota

The US Justice Department has indicted ten foreign nationals accused of illegally voting in Minnesota elections, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Wednesday.

A federal grand jury indicted the ten defendants separately on 24 September for voter fraud, with all having made their initial appearances in federal court. The charges allege they voted illegally in the November 2022 and 2024 general elections and the August 2026 primary election.

All ten are lawful permanent residents, the department said: Bhator Konah Bryant, 61, Alan Barbu Kargbo, 48, and Chis Adam Pettiquoi, 43, of Liberia; Edvile Vaidoto Edmunds, 59, of Lithuania; Joshua Frederick Kofi Edzie, 63, of Ghana; Paul Kras, 78, of Germany; Fadil Rasim Ozegovic, 58, of Bosnia; Aparecido Donizetti Padovan, 62, of Brazil; Christian Liam Schenk, 47, of Canada; and Hester Sophia Weihmann, 69, of South Africa.

Most face charges of making a false claim of US citizenship to register to vote, which carries up to five years in prison, and voting by an alien, a misdemeanour carrying up to a year, the Justice Department said. Edzie is alleged to have voted illegally as recently as the 11 August primary.

“The law is clear, only American citizens may vote in American elections,” Blanche said. The department stressed that an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent.

At the same press conference, the department also announced a judicial misconduct complaint against nearly all of Minnesota’s active federal district judges over their interviews with the New York Times about immigration enforcement cases.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-indicts-ten-aliens-voter-fraud-minnesota
• New York Post: https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/us-news/feds-accuse-10-foreigners-in-minnesota-of-illegal-voting-registration-fraud/
• Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4748560/minnesota-federal-judges-doj-complaint-speaking-media-during-active-lawsuits/