Federal prosecutors charged 28 green card holders in California with voting crimes on Monday, October 19, 2026, marking an aggressive escalation of the Justice Department’s push against state voter rolls just two weeks before the midterm elections.
Out of 23 million registered voters in California, federal prosecutors charged 28 green card holders with voting crimes on Monday, October 19, 2026. The sweep, branded as Operation Protect the Vote, followed an intense legal standoff between Washington and Sacramento over a list of 20,000 names flagged by federal agencies.
WOW. Trump’s #2 at DOJ just admitted this:“There may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens. We’re not perfect.” pic.twitter.com/oe1HiaAHdb
According to federal prosecutors, all 28 defendants are lawful permanent residents who are legally barred from voting in federal elections. Officials announced that 11 of the suspects were taken into custody during coordinated arrests across the state on Monday, October 19, 2026.
Federal Charges and Arrests Target 28 Lawful Permanent Residents
The criminal complaints allege that the defendants fraudulently registered to vote and, in many cases, cast ballots in recent elections.
WOW. First Assistant Bill just admitted in front of the press that not all of those arrested today may have voted. And these are supposedly people on their “high confidence” list.YIKES. Stephen Miller not going to be happy about this performance. pic.twitter.com/rMBurSd0dc
Among those snared in the operation was Giezell Viduya Adawag, 41, of Vacaville, who made her first appearance in federal court on Monday after being accused of casting a ballot in the November 2024 general election while falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, according to federal officials cited by CBS News.
Federal authorities also charged two Sacramento men. Juan Antonio Rivas García, 46, is accused of registering improperly in 2018 and 2020 and voting in 2022 and 2024, while Kamlesh Navnitlal Shah, 67, allegedly cast a ballot on Election Day in November 2024. In Southern California, Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested 72-year-old Omar Alexander Muñoz at his City of Commerce home, the, New York Post reported.
Donald Trump SUED California to stop votes from being counted.Now his own DOJ admits they could be stopping AMERICAN CITIZENS from voting.You cannot make this up. pic.twitter.com/M7mmrIuY9e
Several defendants expressed profound confusion upon appearing at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Ana Domínguez, a 60-year-old native of El Salvador living in Long Beach, said she had no memory of registering to vote when federal authorities accused her of doing so in July 2006, the, Los Angeles Times reported. Prosecutors also accused her of lying about her citizenship on naturalization paperwork submitted in March 2026.
This Department of Justice will not look the other way while noncitizens vote in federal elections,
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCottersaid at a press conference on Monday announcing the election crime charges.Unfortunately the same can’t be said for California and L.A. County.Trent McCotter, Acting Deputy Attorney General via NPR
Clash Over Voter Rolls and the 20,000-Name List
The federal crackdown stems from an intense data dispute that erupted earlier in October.
OPERATION PROTECT THE VOTE28 foreign nationals were charged in criminal complaints with federal crimes, including that they fraudulently registered to vote in U.S. elections, electoral contests in which most of them cast illegal and fraudulently obtained ballots.This was a… pic.twitter.com/JeW3yMG6yd
The Department of Justice provided California election authorities with a list containing 20,000 names of individuals characterized as likely noncitizens, giving state officials a 48-hour deadline to sequester ballots cast by anyone on the list unless citizenship could be independently verified. When California election chiefs refused, the Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday demanding that the court block the processing of those ballots.
Local election officials pushed back aggressively against the federal directive. In a court filing opposing a temporary restraining order, California attorneys denounced the lawsuit as a reckless political stunt
designed to disenfranchise thousands of legitimate voters. Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan stated that the federal government failed to provide the underlying evidence or methodology supporting its assertions.
Analysis of the list by Los Angeles County officials revealed major flaws. In a court declaration, Aman Bhullar noted that out of 20,000 names, only about 7,000 had county addresses. When local officials analyzed a sample of records, 38.9% of those with meaningful birthplace information indicated they were born in the United States, The Guardian reported. Furthermore, some records had cancelled registrations, others never voted, and individuals had been mailed a ballot this year.
During Monday’s press conference, McCotter acknowledged that the list might contain errors, stating, There may be some names on there who, it turns out, ultimately are citizens. We’re not perfect, and that’s why we’ve asked California to cooperate with us.
Federal authorities arrested more than two dozen people in California on charges tied to fraudulent voter registration.American citizens should be deciding American elections, not noncitizens.https://t.co/ziyBbkRkmk
Justice Department Warns Local Officials Against Processing Noncitizen Ballots
Ahead of the lawsuit, senior Justice Department officials issued a stern warning to local administrators.
A letter sent on Friday by McCotter warned that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizens are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution as aiders and abettors, NBC News reported.
Donald Trump is suing California over our voting rolls and STILL trying to rig the rules in his favor.This is not normal. And we cannot afford to sit back and pretend it is. pic.twitter.com/FrM165FFpj
President Donald Trump amplified the warning on Truth Social, writing: They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!
Federal lawmakers including Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Joseph Morelle responded by demanding explanations from the Justice Department regarding whether the White House directed the litigation and why action was taken just weeks before the midterm vote.
Election experts noted that noncitizen voting has not been found to be a widespread problem in American elections. UCLA law professor Rick Hasen observed that the 28 charges represent a tiny fraction of California’s 23 million registered voters. Given that there’s over 20 million registered voters in California, this is quite a small number of allegations,
Hasen said, according to NPR.
Let’s be clear about the facts: California has more than 23 million registered voters — the 28 cases of alleged voter fraud announced this morning represent .0001% of that total.Isolated cases of voter fraud occur in red and blue states alike. As I’ve said repeatedly, any… pic.twitter.com/8tCWFDZ5Dp