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Justice Department charges 16 across multiple states with alleged illegal voting, election crimes

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Sinkewicz, M. (2026, September 20). Justice Department charges 16 across multiple states with alleged illegal voting, election crimes. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/justice-department-charges-16-across-multiple-states-alleged-illegal-voting-election-crimes

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-20 · by Michael Sinkewicz

Quick Summary

The Department of Justice charged 16 people across multiple states with alleged illegal voting and voter registration fraud. These charges include noncitizens voting in federal elections and making false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote. Cases involve individuals from Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Michigan, spanning several election years. The DOJ emphasized these actions as part of a broader enforcement effort initiated during the Trump administration to combat illegal voting and related crimes.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 16 people across multiple states with various election crimes, including illegal voting. These charges involve noncitizens accused of casting ballots in federal elections; for instance, Avila Gomez, a Mexican national in Idaho, is alleged to have falsely claimed US citizenship and voted in May 2022 and November 2024. Additionally, eight non-citizens were charged with voting in Texas alone. The cases also include false claims of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, naturalization fraud, passport and identification fraud, wire fraud, and firearm-related offenses. Prosecutors from the DOJ warned on social media against further illegal election participation, emphasizing efforts to maintain electoral integrity as part of a broader initiative initiated during the Trump administration.

Written for “Election Crime Charges” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Election Crime Charges
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 4 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (US)
Hedges 5 of 21 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A describes alleged directives from DHS agents to misrepresent themselves to access voter rolls, while Article B reports on charges brought by the Justice Department against individuals for election crimes.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 6 of 30 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A reports on a single announcement by DOJ regarding charges against 16 individuals, while Article B discusses a broader initiative resulting in multiple arrests over time.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 13 of 39 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe related actions by different entities (DOJ charging individuals vs. White House pushing for review of voter rolls), not a single identical incident.”
Reason
Hedges 3 of 21 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles describe different entities (DOJ vs DHS) with distinct actions (charging individuals with election crimes vs harassing voters), despite both involving voter-related issues.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles refer to different aspects of an ongoing issue; Article A discusses specific cases where defendants are challenging their prosecution, while Article B is about a broader DOJ announcement charging multiple individuals across various states.”
NPR
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 9 of 40 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe related issues but different specific events: one discusses an internal DHS email about non-English ballots, while the other reports on DOJ charges for alleged election crimes involving noncitizens.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 12 of 133 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A focuses on six green card holders charged in Texas, while Article B mentions charges against 16 people across multiple states.”
Fox News
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 7 of 52 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A focuses on seven noncitizens charged in North Texas, while Article B reports charges against 16 people across multiple states.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 41 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses a legal argument being made in Miami about noncitizen voting, while Article B reports on charges filed by the DOJ against 16 people across multiple states for election crimes.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
4 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6375 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michael Sinkewicz
51 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Michael Sinkewicz
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 51 articles by Michael Sinkewicz →

Topics

DOJ Georgia Idaho New Jersey U.S.

Subjects

DOJ ORG · 8× U.S. GPE · 4× Mullin PERSON · 3× Georgia GPE · 2× Idaho GPE · 2× New Jersey GPE · 2× Massachusetts GPE · 1× Texas GPE · 1× The Department of Justice ORG · 1× Wisconsin GPE · 1×

Narrative

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against 16 people in multiple states in connection with alleged illegal voting, voter registration and other election-related crimes, including cases involving noncitizens accused of casting ballots in federal elections.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 Avila Gomez, a Mexican national residing in Idaho, is accused of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register to vote and then voting in May 2022 and November 2024.

Claims (21 extracted, 4 hedged)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against 16 people in multiple states in connection with alleged illegal voting, voter registration and other election-related crimes, including cases involving noncitizens accused of casting ballots in federal elections. asserted
Department → announce → elections
DOJ followed the announcement with a warning on social media, saying some of those charged allegedly voted in the 2022 and 2024 elections, and warning others against attempting to illegally participate in U.S. elections. uncertain
some → follow → elections
"Let this be a warning to ANYONE trying to cheat and undermine our elections," the DOJ wrote. asserted
DOJ → let → elections
According to DOJ, eight non-citizens residing in Texas were charged, while the other cases involved defendants in Idaho, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Michigan. uncertain
cases → accord → Idaho
The allegations include noncitizens voting in federal elections, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote, and false statements related to naturalization. uncertain
allegations → include → naturalization
During the investigations, the DOJ said authorities also uncovered alleged passport and identification fraud, wire fraud and firearm-related offenses. asserted
authorities → say → fraud
The cases are part of a broader Trump administration enforcement effort targeting alleged illegal voting and election-related crimes. asserted
cases → target → voting
In Georgia, DOJ said Analiea Milliscent Eccles, a Venezuelan national and DACA recipient, voted nine times between 2008 and 2024. asserted
Eccles → say → 2008
She was charged with voting as a noncitizen and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote. asserted
She → charge → citizenship
Avila Gomez, a Mexican national residing in Idaho, is accused of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register to vote and then voting in May 2022 and November 2024. uncertain
Gomez → reside → May
The indictment also includes wire fraud, passport, identification-document and firearm-related charges. asserted
indictment → include → fraud
DOJ said Santana Coulibaly, a lawful permanent resident in New Jersey, registered to vote in 2016, voted in federal elections in 2018 and 2020 and submitted a provisional ballot in the 2024 presidential election. asserted
Coulibaly → say → election
She also faces allegations involving statements made in her naturalization applications. asserted
She → face → applications
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the DOJ's Fraud Division told Fox News that the Trump administration has now charged 50 non-citizens with illegal voting. asserted
administration → tell → voting
"America's elections are for Americans," McDonald said. asserted
McDonald → say → Americans
In a separate interview, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said a broader investigation was underway. asserted
investigation → say → Security
Mullin said officials have more than 1,620 open cases and have made 151 arrests. asserted
officials → say → arrests
He also said authorities are looking into more than 300,000 suspected cases, a figure he said continues to grow. asserted
he → say → cases
Mullin asserted that "every single vote that was at the hands of an illegal [immigrant], canceled out a citizen that was legally registered and able to vote. asserted
that → assert → citizen
" "One is too many, but the fact that we have 300,000 cases we're looking into right now and 1,620 cases that are under investigation, and 151 arrests is unacceptable," Mullin said. asserted
Mullin → look → investigation
The Justice Department noted that the charges announced Friday are accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. asserted
defendants → note → doubt
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