US conservative activists charged with unlawful voting in election stunt

Two conservative activists who filmed a stunt undercover at a Minnesota polling site have been charged with unlawful voting and identity theft, prosecutors said.

James Edward O'Keefe and Cam Higby are accused of trying to sow doubt in the state's voting systems after sharing a video that shows them in Islamic attire and using fake accents while interacting with poll workers.

Prosecutors allege the pair misrepresented their identities by giving election judges the names of registered voters in the precinct without those voters' knowledge or permission.

Higby told the BBC he sought to "expose vulnerabilities" in the voting system and alleged the state is now trying to take away his right to vote.

"This investigation was conducted to expose vulnerabilities in the Minnesota voting system, which affects all Americans," Higby, a 26-year-old political commentator, said.

"I never voted, I never signed an affidavit, and I never violated a law," he continued. "For showing how Minnesota abuses votes, they seek to take mine away from me permanently."

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office confirmed neither of the men signed the required oath to confirm their address. But the prosecutors said both men "intentionally" misrepresented their identities when applying for ballots.

Unlawful voting and identity theft are felony charges.

In the recorded incident from August, the provocateurs were attempting to highlight a Minnesota law, external that allows registered voters to vouch for the identity and address of up to eight people.

The law is intended to assist people who recently moved to the state to vote - not to impersonate other registered voters.

At the time, Higby captioned the video: "I dressed as a Muslim woman and Minneapolis poll workers were prepared to allow me and an army of other foreigners to fraudulently vote without verifying who any of us are."

State law holds that no individual can intentionally misrepresent their identity in applying for a ballot, depositing a ballot in a ballot box or attempting to vote by means of a voting machine or electronic voting system.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, the state's chief election officer, said in a statement on Wednesday that "any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated".

He added, "Polling places are the heart of our democracy and should be places of safety and peace."

It was not immediately clear when O'Keefe and Higby are due in court.

The BBC has contacted O'Keefe for comment.

O'Keefe, 42, is the founder of Project Veritas, a far-right activist group and media company that seeks to investigate and expose corruption. The group is known to produce secretly recorded encounters. After being ousted from Project Veritas, he founded O'Keefe Media Group.