WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel told Breitbart News the nation’s preeminent law enforcement agency is taking voter fraud cases extremely seriously after a string of recent arrests in Pennsylvania charging people with crimes on this front.
“Voter fraud is a serious crime, and those who attempt to undermine our elections will be held accountable,” Patel told Breitbart News on Monday morning. “One citizen, one vote- the integrity of our elections depends on it, and violators will be brought to justice.”
The Justice Department announced in a statement from U.S. Attorney David Metcalf in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, late last week that two separate defendants have been charged with voting crimes. The two defendants are 31-year-old Matthew Laiss of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who according to the DOJ press release “was charged by indictment with one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud,” and 39-year-old Miya Pack of Philadelphia who “was charged by indictment with one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud.”
In Laiss’s case, authorities allege that he voted in 2020 in both in Pennsylvania and in Florida.
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“As detailed in the indictment, from at least October 2012 until about August 2020, Laiss resided in, and was lawfully registered to vote in, Ottsville, Pennsylvania, a municipality located in Bucks County. In or around August 2020, Laiss moved his primary residence from Ottsville, Pennsylvania, to Frostproof, Florida. The same month, he applied for and obtained a Florida driver’s license and registered to vote in Florida,” the press release states.
“In or about October 2020, the Bucks County Board of Elections mailed a ballot for the November 2020 general election to the defendant’s former address in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, where Laiss’s parents continued to reside. The indictment alleges that, on or about October 31, 2020, Laiss filled out and returned the Pennsylvania mail-in ballot, casting a vote for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America. The indictment further alleges that, on or about November 3, 2020, Laiss went to a polling location in or around Frostproof, Florida, and voted in the 2020 general election, casting a vote for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States of America.”
The charges Laiss faces each carry a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison each, three years of supervised release, and possible fines ranging from $10,000 to $250,000. The release states that the case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from Pennsylvania’s State Department.
In Pack’s case, authorities allege the defendant voted in both New Jersey and in Pennsylvania in the 2024 election.
“The indictment alleges that Pack was registered to vote in Bergen County, New Jersey, and had been registered there since in or about 2004, and was also registered to vote in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, since in or about 2016,” the DOJ press release states.
“The indictment further alleges that, on or about October 26, 2024, the defendant voted in person at an early voting location in Teaneck, New Jersey, casting a vote for the office of President of the United States of America. On Election Day, November 5, 2024, as alleged in the indictment, Pack went to a polling place in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and cast another ballot in the 2024 general election, to include a vote for the office of President of the United States of America.”
Pack likewise faces up to five years imprisonment on each count, three years supervised release on each count, and fines of between $10,000 and $250,000. This case was also investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Office of the Superintendent of Elections for Bergen County, New Jersey, and the Office of Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein.
The renewed focus from the FBI on voter fraud cases seems significant and sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News to expect more in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead from the FBI under Patel’s leadership of the Bureau.
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