Impersonation video leads to charges: 2 activists face felony charges after filming themselves posing as Minnesota voters

Charges tied to primary videos

Prosecutors in Hennepin County charged James O'Keefe, 42, and Cam Higby, 26, on Wednesday with felony unlawful voting and identity theft. The county attorney's office announced the charges in a news release, citing videos the pair filmed during Minnesota's Aug. 11 primary.

The footage shows O'Keefe identifying himself to election officials as William Pomeranz, according to the report. CBS News Minnesota spoke with Pomeranz, who said he received unusual messages on Election Day.

What the footage shows

The video opens with undercover activists wearing what they described as Muslim costumes and speaking with fake accents. They claimed to be Minnesota voters who could vouch for others.

CBS News Minnesota reported in August that members of the group did not go ahead with voting illegally. O'Keefe is the ousted founder of Project Veritas and now leads O'Keefe Media Group.

Officials address voter impersonation

Secretary of State Steve Simon said in the county attorney's release that attempts to disrupt or deceive election workers “will not be tolerated.” In August, constitutional law professor David Schultz of Hamline University said the conduct shown appeared to violate Minnesota law. Simon also said the law bars impersonating another registered voter and that the video appeared to show that behavior.