Secretary Mullin and Attorney General Blanche Hold Press Conference on Recent Voter Fraud Charges Against Non-Citizens in Minnesota

These charges are the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche held a press conference to announce federal charges against ten aliens for unlawful voting and registration offenses in Minnesota.

Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul, a federal grand jury returned ten indictments against ten foreign nationals, including NINE counts of illegal voting by an alien and NINE counts of making a false claim of citizenship in order to vote. The defendants are accused of voting in recent elections such as the 2022 and 2024 elections, and even as recently as the primary election in August 2026. Nine of the defendants were arrested in Minnesota while the tenth was arrested in Massachusetts.

Secretary Mullin and Attorney General Blanche were joined at the press conference by Daniel N. Rosen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota.

“Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: we will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences, including criminal charges and deportation,” said Secretary Mullin. “Under President Trump’s leadership, this administration will never allow the votes of American citizens to be cancelled out by non-citizens illegally voting in our elections. Only American citizens should be electing American leaders.”

“Today's charges allege that ten foreign nationals committed voter fraud in Minnesota, one voting illegally as recently as this August's primary,” said Attorney General Blanche. “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.”

“Voting in American elections is a privilege of American citizenship,” said Attorney Rosen. “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.”

The ten suspects are:

Bhator Konah Bryant, a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), from Liberia

Edvile Vaidoto Edmunds, LPR, from Lithuania

Joshua Edzie, LPR, from Ghana

Alan Barbu Kargbo, LPR, from Liberia

Fadil Rasim Rasim Ozegovic, LPR, from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Aparecido Donizetti Padovan, LPR, from Brazil

• Paul Kras, LPR, from Germany
• Chris Adam Pettiquoui, LPR, from Liberia
• Christian Liam Schenk, LPR, from Canada
• Hester Sophia Weihmann, LPR, from South Africa

First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph S. Teirab is prosecuting these cases.

This is part of the Trump Administration’s broader focus on stopping non-citizens from voting in American elections. Recent examples include:

• In September, HSI and the FBI arrested Sanata Coulibaly, an alien from Senegal, who admitted to voting in 2020 and 2024 in New Jersey.
• In September, an HSI investigation lead to the conviction of Evelyn Novelles Miller, an alien from the Philippines, who illegally voted in the 2024 election in Pennsylvania.
• In September, HSI arrested Ludwig Uriel Espejo-Carrillo, an alien from Mexico, and charged him with unlawful voting and false claim to U.S. citizenship after illegally voting in American elections in 2015.
• In September, ICE arrested Anthony Tyrone Higgs, an alien from the Bahamas who had illegally voted in the 2020 election, and whose criminal history includes convictions for TWO counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, TWO counts of grand larceny, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, criminal domestic violence, assault on a police officer, and resisting arrest. 
• In September, ICE arrested Mariana Alexandra Dewey, an alien from Peru, for illegally misrepresenting herself as a U.S. citizen to vote in the 2024 election in Kansas.
• In August, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo-Grajales, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia, was sentenced to three years in prison after an ICE investigation led to him pleading guilty to committing identity theft to illegally vote in elections for more than 20 years. 
• In July, HSI arrested Marian Charitun, an alien from Slovakia who had illegally voted in the 2022 election in New Jersey.
• In July, an HSI investigation led to the arrest of Denise Nataly Migliore, an alien from Australia who illegally voted in the 2022 and 2024 elections in Louisiana.
• In May, DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against four non-citizens in New Jersey who illegally voted in federal elections and made false statements while applying for U.S. citizenship.
• In April, Jose Ceballos, an alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty to THREE counts of disorderly election conduct after illegally voting multiple times and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen in Kansas.
• In March, ICE arrested Mahady Sacko, a criminal illegal alien from Mauritania who had been illegally voting in the United States since 2008.

In recent months, DHS has taken additional steps to safeguard the integrity and security of American elections. These measures include:

• In September, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released its 2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan: Securing the Next 250. 
• In July, Secretary Mullin sent letters to secretaries of state in several states across the country warning that tens of thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote.
• In July, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that grant recipients will be required to take several key actions on election integrity.
• In June, DHS directed ICE to enforce stricter penalties for non-citizens who illegally vote in American elections, including deportation.

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