The first arrest in what a Trump administration prosecutor says will be a broader election fraud crackdown was announced Friday in Los Angeles, and the White House seized on the case to hit back at longtime critics.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced a Honduran national was charged with two felony counts and could face deportation if convicted, while criticizing California’s current voter registration safeguards and renewing DOJ demands for a voter roll audit.
„Today’s arrest is the first of many to come. Unfortunately, because states like California allow non-citizens to easily register to vote and receive a ballot by mail, there’s no telling how many non-citizens are currently registered to vote,“ Essayli said in a statement announcing the capture of Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores.
„We again renew our request that California immediately comply with our requests to audit their voter rolls so that all voters can have confidence in our elections.“
Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom for comment.
Rivera Flores, of the Winnetka neighborhood west of Van Nuys, was charged with fraudulent voter registration and false claim of U.S. citizenship. He did not vote in an election, according to the DOJ.
Rivera Flores entered the U.S. during the George W. Bush administration and was a green card holder, but was not a U.S. citizen, according to an affidavit.
He was previously charged with a misdemeanor for „disrupting immigration law enforcement operations“ at a federal building in Camarillo, California, and sentenced to one year of probation.
Rivera Flores also allegedly sent a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent a slew of taunting text messages, calling the officer „not the good guy“ and saying he could not „wait until the midterms“ because he believed the agent would not have qualified immunity, legal protection that can shield law enforcement officers from certain civil claims arising from their official conduct.
Text messages between Rivera Flores and the agent reviewed by Fox News show several profane jabs directed at the officer, including, „How you f–ing treat people … that’s not f–ing protecting, you’re hurting these people,“ and, „Chris, you know you’re a b–-, right.“
CLICK BELOW TO READ THE AFFIDAVIT
Rivera Flores obtained the agent’s number after the agent unblocked it on his government-issued phone to contact him during an investigation, according to the affidavit.
The White House said Rivera Flores’ case indicates mainstream media and political critics are off base in their countervailing reporting and allegations about the existence of voter fraud.
„Despite the media and Democrats claiming it never happens, the evidence of noncitizens registering to vote in our elections continues to pile up,“ White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.
„Any non-citizens found registering to vote and voting in our elections will be held accountable. Only Americans should be electing American leaders.“
WATCH: TRUMP DOJ VOWS TO PURSUE ‘EVERY SINGLE’ VOTING VIOLATION AFTER NJ ROLL SHOCKER
CNN HOST ADMITS HE WAS WRONG TO SAY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT VOTING ‘NEVER HAPPENS’ AFTER NEW JERSEY ERROR
Essayli said the case bolsters the DOJ’s demand that California comply with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s request for a comprehensive voter roll audit.
Dhillon said in a statement that noncitizens who „commit fraud so they can vote in American elections“ violate federal law and should expect to be prosecuted.
„Let this criminal complaint serve as a reminder that the Justice Department stands ready to enforce the laws Congress enacted to ensure only American citizens vote in federal elections.“
SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER
Californians will decide in November whether to impose additional voter ID and citizenship-verification requirements. Under current law, people registering to vote must state, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and provide identifying information.
The initiative is being led by state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, and Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego.
Fox News’ Matt Finn contributed to this report.
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-08-28 18:36:52
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
