DOJ charges 28 noncitizens in California voter fraud case

🗞️ Story file #653

DOJ charges 28 noncitizens in California voter fraud case

Oct 19, 2 PM ET to Oct 21, 10 PM ET · 2 outlets not rated for lean

31outlets carried it
🫏8 · 4 · 17🐘left · center · right
2.3 dayson the front pages
31front pages at once, at its peak
20 minof TV captions
8radio newscasts
7people retold it online
3 of 7parts of a saga

👣 How this story traveled: from the front pages that broke it, out through TV, radio and the shows, into what people retold and what fact-checkers examined, and on into the saga it is part of. Everything here is matched to the story by our tools, so a link can be wrong; the trackers' pages say how each is made.

Oct 19, 2 PM ETfirst on a front page: The Guardian
Oct 19, 2 PM ETfirst on TV: Fox News
Oct 19, 9 PM ETfirst on the radio: NPR News Now
Oct 19, 11 PM ETpeak: on 31 front pages
Oct 21, 8 AM ETretold online by 7 people

the front pages that ran it, hour by hour

Front pages carrying it at each hourly run, Oct 19, 2 PM to Oct 21, 10 PM ET (peak 30), by the outlets' lean: left · center · right · not rated

Who carried it and when: each outlet in the order it picked the story up, a bar for each headline from when we first saw it on the front page to when we last did, in the outlet's lean color (dashed: not rated); a dot marks a new headline. Beneath, its captions on TV, the radio newscasts that carried it (bigger: the lead) and when people were found retelling it. Hover for details.

📌 linked by aggregators: Google News Real Clear Politics

💬 quoted: “High percentage” 2 “likely noncitizen” 2 “Absurd” “massive concession” “likely” “These are not isolated instances”

🗣️ only one side says: 🫏 doj charges

✏️ 13 outlets ran more than one headline on it (reworded, or a follow-up)

Bloomberg (2 wordings): “US Agents Arrest 11 in California Over Alleged Illegal Voting” → “US Agents Arrest 11 in California on Alleged Illegal Voting”
Breitbart (2 wordings): “Federal Officials Arrest Over Two Dozen Connected with Illegal Voting in California” → “Federal Officials Arrest Over a Dozen Connected with Illegal Voting in CA”
Just the News (2 wordings): “DOJ charges 28 non-citizens found on voter rolls: 'These are not isolated instances'” → “DOJ charges 28 non-citizens found on California voter rolls: 'These are not isolated instances'”
Los Angeles Times (2 wordings): “Feds arrest alleged noncitizen voters in California amid broader election fight with state” → “Trump’s latest October surprise? A federal crackdown on alleged noncitizen voting in California”
New York Post (3 wordings): “Federal agents smash huge voter fraud ring in California — days after state issued ultimatum” → “28 alleged noncitizens were busted for voter fraud in the operation and face a variety of criminal and misdemeanor charges.”
Newsmax (3 wordings): “DOJ: Over 2 Dozen Charged in Calif. Noncitizen Voter Op” → “DOJ Charges 28 Noncitizens in Calif. Voting Cases”
PJ Media (2 wordings): “Feds Arrest 28 Noncitizens Accused of Illegally Registering to Vote in California” → “Feds Arrest 28 Registered Noncitizen Voters, All From List of 20,000 Sent to California”
Red State (4 wordings): “FBI Crushes Major Voter Fraud Ring in California After Trump's Ultimatum to Newsom” → “Election Integrity DOJ Details How It Found 20,000 Likely Noncitizens on CA Voter Rolls, Seeks Emergency Court Order Jennifer Van Laar”
The Epoch Times (2 wordings): “DOJ Charges 28 Noncitizens in California With Election Crimes” → “DOJ Escalates Battle with California Over Alleged Voter Fraud as Elections Near”
The Gateway Pundit (3 wordings): “Justice Department Charges 28 Non-Citizens for Registering to Vote in California.. Developing… (VIDEO)” → “4 DOJ Takes Emergency Action Against California in Fight to Stop State from Counting 20,000 Ballots Given to Non-Citizens”
The Guardian (2 wordings): “Trump DoJ announces arrests of 28 green card holders in California on noncitizen voting related charge” → “DoJ charges 28 green card holders in California over alleged voter fraud”
Townhall (3 wordings): “The Feds Busted a Major Noncitizen Voting Ring in California” → “Election Integrity The Feds Busted a Major Noncitizen Voting Ring in California Jeff Charles”
Washington Examiner (3 wordings): “Federal voter fraud arrests intensify California clash days after DOJ warned election officials” → “Voter fraud arrests intensify in California after DOJ warning”

Every outlet's first headline (31), left to right by AllSides rating

HuffPost Feds Arrest 11 People In California Accused Of Illegally Registering To Vote, Voting In Elections Oct 19, 4 PM ET
Salon Alleged voter fraud in California leads to 28 arrests Oct 19, 5 PM ET
The Guardian Trump DoJ announces arrests of 28 green card holders in California on noncitizen voting related charge Oct 19, 2 PM ET
ABC News DOJ charges 28 with unlawful voting, other election-related offenses in California Oct 19, 8 PM ET
Los Angeles Times Feds arrest alleged noncitizen voters in California amid broader election fight with state Oct 19, 2 PM ET
Mediaite Trump DOJ Charges Green Card Holders in California With Voter Fraud Oct 19, 5 PM ET
NPR DOJ charges 28 in California with voting crimes as election tensions escalate Oct 19, 11 PM ET
PBS NewsHour Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen foreign nationals in California sweep targeting noncitizen voters Oct 19, 1 PM ET
Bloomberg US Agents Arrest 11 in California Over Alleged Illegal Voting Oct 19, 3 PM ET
Fortune Feds arrest more than two dozen green card holders in California for allegedly voting, weeks before the midterms Oct 19, 2 PM ET
Scripps News Politics DOJ charges dozens in California sweep targeting alleged noncitizen voters AP via Scripps News Group Oct 19, 4 PM ET
The Hill Justice Department targets and charges 28 alleged noncitizen California voters Oct 19, 9 PM ET
Just the News DOJ charges 28 non-citizens found on voter rolls: 'These are not isolated instances' Oct 19, 1 PM ET
The Epoch Times DOJ Charges 28 Noncitizens in California With Election Crimes Oct 19, 9 PM ET
The Washington Times Feds accuse 28 noncitizens of unlawfully registering to vote in California Oct 19, 4 PM ET
Washington Examiner Federal voter fraud arrests intensify California clash days after DOJ warned election officials Oct 19, 3 PM ET
Breitbart Federal Officials Arrest Over Two Dozen Connected with Illegal Voting in California Oct 19, 2 PM ET
New York Post Federal agents smash huge voter fraud ring in California — days after state issued ultimatum Oct 19, 11 AM ET
Newsmax DOJ: Over 2 Dozen Charged in Calif. Noncitizen Voter Op Oct 19, 1 PM ET
OAN DOJ: Over 2 dozen noncitizens arrested in Calif. voter fraud crackdown ahead of Nov. elections Oct 19, 3 PM ET
PJ Media Feds Arrest 28 Noncitizens Accused of Illegally Registering to Vote in California Oct 19, 4 PM ET
Red State FBI Crushes Major Voter Fraud Ring in California After Trump's Ultimatum to Newsom Oct 19, 11 AM ET
The Blaze Justice Department seeks to BLOCK ballots of 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters in California Oct 19, 7 PM ET
The Daily Signal DOJ Charges 28 Noncitizens in California Voter Fraud Crackdown, Arrests 11 Oct 19, 4 PM ET
The Federalist 28 Charged In Noncitizen Voting Bust Hours After Leslie Stahl Says It’s Not An Issue Oct 21, 8 AM ET
The Gateway Pundit Justice Department Charges 28 Non-Citizens for Registering to Vote in California.. Developing… (VIDEO) Oct 19, 3 PM ET
The Post Millennial Feds arrests dozens of arrest foreign nationals illegally registered to vote who have cast ballots in California: report Oct 19, 12 PM ET
The Western Journal FBI Carries Out Major Voter Fraud Bust in California After Gavin Newsom Ignores Ultimatum Oct 19, 3 PM ET
Townhall The Feds Busted a Major Noncitizen Voting Ring in California Oct 19, 3 PM ET
Talking Points Memo DOJ Charges 28 People In Big Show of Cracking Down on Noncitizen Voting Ahead of Midterms Oct 19, 6 PM ET
The Washington Sun DOJ Charges Dozens of Immigrants in California Amid Bitter Elections Battle Oct 19, 4 PM ET

TV, radio, and the shows that talked about it

📺 On TV

Fox News9 min

CNN6 min

MSNOW4 min

BBC News34 s

BIG CROWDS, EARLY VOTES: DEMS SEE ENCOURAGING SIGNS MSNOW, 3 min
TRUMP ADMIN SUES CA OVER UNVETTED NON-CITIZEN VOTER CLAIMS CNN, 3 min
CALIFORNIA FIGHTS DOJ OVER NONCITIZEN VOTER PROBE Fox News, 71 s
NEWSOM GLOATS ABOUT GOP VOTER IN CA FRAUD BUST Fox News, 69 s
OFFICIALS: U.S. CITIZEN INJURED IN CALIFORNIA ICE INCIDENT CNN, 55 s
CA & DOJ CLASH OVER ALLEGED NONCITIZEN VOTERS Fox News, 47 s
RPT: GOP VOTER AMONG 28 NON-CITIZENS CHARGED IN CA Fox News, 47 s
GA ELECTION OFFICIALS PUSH BACK ON RIGGED ELECTION CLAIMS CNN, 43 s

📻 On the radio

NPR News Now, Oct 21, 9:09 AM ET: story 6 of 7
NPR News Now, Oct 21, 1:10 AM ET: story 3 of 7
NPR News Now, Oct 20, 8:09 AM ET: the lead
NPR News Now, Oct 20, 6:10 AM ET: story 4 of 8
NPR News Now, Oct 20, 5:09 AM ET: the lead
NPR News Now, Oct 20, 2:10 AM ET: story 2 of 5
NPR News Now, Oct 20, 12:09 AM ET: the lead
NPR News Now, Oct 19, 9:09 PM ET: the lead

🎙️ Shows, investigators, satire

🎙️ 🎙️ Up First (NPR) 📨 Erick Erickson 📺 MeidasTouch 📺 Benny Johnson

what people online made of it

🧩 How it's being told

The stories under this news, from our motif index, and who told each: the shows we follow by their lean, people online, fact-checkers. A story people tell, not a claim that it's true; claims are matched to this story by our tools, so a link can be wrong.

🧩 Immigration policy abuse 🧶 online
“The Trump administration confused the green card holders it charged in California with other people of similar names.”
🧩 Importing voters 🧶 online
↔️ its answer: Voter suppression
“Dozens of noncitizens in California registered and voted illegally, because the state registers people at every government contact and looked away.”
🧩 Intimidation 🧶 online
“The Trump administration's arrests of noncitizen voters in California are a scare tactic to intimidate voters before the midterms, not about election fraud.”
🧩 Not up to the task 🧶 online
“The Trump administration confused the green card holders it charged in California with other people of similar names.”
🧩 Solution in search of a problem 🧶 online
↔️ its answer: Voter fraud
“The Trump administration confused the green card holders it charged in California with other people of similar names.”
🧩 Voter fraud 🧶 online
↔️ its answer: Voter suppression, Solution in search of a problem
“The Justice Department's list of suspected noncitizen voters in California is unreliable and an attempt to disenfranchise citizens.”
🧩 Voter suppression 🧶 online
↔️ its answer: Voter fraud, Importing voters
“The Justice Department's list of suspected noncitizen voters in California is unreliable and an attempt to disenfranchise citizens.” and 1 more

🧶 Retold online

The Justice Department's list of suspected noncitizen voters in California is unreliable and an attempt to disenfranchise citizens. Oct 21: told by 7 people; told before on Oct 25
🦋 Widely seen on Bluesky

🦋 a post on Bluesky · 184 likes, 74 reposts

On Folklore: the latest in full, with their motifs and who is telling them.

🗣️ names in it: California Justice Department FBI Green Card Holders

what the fact-checkers looked into

🧐 No fact-checker has taken it on yet.

the running story it belongs to

🧵 California noncitizen ballot dispute

DOJ warns California election officials of legal risks for counting suspected noncitizen ballots
Oct 17, 9 PM ET
DOJ sues California over 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters
Oct 14, 11 AM ET
DOJ charges 28 noncitizens in California voter fraud case (this story)
Oct 19, 2 PM ET
Justice Department seeks court order over alleged noncitizen voters in California
Oct 21, 12 PM ET
Judge questions doj's claims of noncitizens on California voter rolls
Oct 23, 9 PM ET
Appeals court rejects DOJ's bid to set aside California mail ballots
Oct 25, 10 PM ET
DOJ charges 48 noncitizens in election-related crimes
Oct 26, 6 PM ET