(KSTP) – Federal prosecutors on Tuesday unsealed indictments against 10 people who falsely claimed they were citizens when voting or registering to vote in Minnesota.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the defendants include foreign nationals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Liberia, Lithuania, and South Africa:
- Bhator Konah Bryant, 61
- Edvile Vaidoto Edmunds, 59
- Joshua Frederick Kofi Edzie. 63
- Alan Barbu Kargbo, 48
- Paul Kras, 78
- Fadil Rasim Ozegovic, 58
- Aparecido Donizetti Padovan, 62
- Chris Adam Pettiquoi, 43
- Christian Liam Schenk, 47
- Hester Sophia Weihmann, 69
Charges against the defendants include falsely claiming citizenship in order to vote and voting by an alien, most recently in the August 2026 primary election.
The indictments do not include any details on where the defendants registered to vote or how they managed to cast a ballot.
At least one of the defendants, Weihmann, is already charged in state court.
During a news conference in Washington alongside U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen said the alleged crimes arise from “a general tolerance for fraud” in Minnesota.
According to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, 3,272,414 votes were cast in the 2024 general election. Minnesota Judicial Branch records show 57 charges of ineligible voters knowingly voting filed statewide from 2021-25, 14 of which resulted in convictions.
State charges offer more detail
Felony charges filed against Weihmann last year in Isanti County reveal she is a green card holder who resides in Cambridge, Minnesota, and has been in the country since 2015.
According to a criminal complaint, Weihmann cast ballots in 2022 and 2024 and filled out paperwork to inactivate her voter record when an election official informed her she was ineligible to vote. Isanti County election administrators referred the case to the sheriff’s office for investigation.
Weihmann faces two charges of knowingly voting as an ineligible voter in Isanti County District Court. A plea hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.
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