28 charged in California sweep targeting alleged noncitizen voters

Federal authorities charged more than two dozen foreign nationals Monday in California as part of a statewide sweep targeting people who officials say have illegally registered and voted in U. S. elections. The arrests are part of a Trump administration effort to root out noncitizen voting ahead of next month's midterm elections, even though data shows that the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.

The Justice Department said the 28 people who were charged as part of a sweep dubbed Operation Protect the Vote are lawful permanent residents — but not U. S. citizens who are permitted to legally vote. They are charged with crimes including making false statements on a naturalization application and submitting fraudulent voter registrations. “This causes real damage to real elections and real damage to American citizens,” Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, said during a news conference in Los Angeles to announce the charges. California emerges as a flashpoint for voting dispute The federal government has made noncitizen voting a priority this year, demanding detailed voter information — including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — from the states. While some states voluntarily handed over the information, the department sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain it — lawsuits that so far have been unsuccessful.

Federal authorities have charged 28 people from across California with illegally registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections despite not being U. S. citizens — escalating an election battle between the state and the Trump administration just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms. Authorities said 11 of the 28 were arrested as of Monday and that the 17 others “will be in custody in the near future.” Some of the 28, all of whom are lawful permanent residents of the U. S., are also charged with lying on their naturalization paperwork, officials said. Acting Deputy Atty. Gen. Trent McCotter cast the arrests during a Monday news conference as proof that California voter rolls are corrupted and need to be purged to prevent noncitizens from negating the legitimate votes of U. S. citizens, and that California officials who have rebuffed recent Trump administration efforts to purge the state’s rolls are willfully obstructing justice. “This Department of Justice will not look the other way while non-citizens vote in federal elections,” McCotter said. “Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for California and L. A.

Richard Riehle, a veteran character actor known for roles in hundreds of films and television shows, has died at the age of 78, according to Variety.

“I’m proud of the way that the guys that were in there finished the game with a critical drive, and that they showed up in good fashion. We were able to run the football, take the time and the clock down, and end the drive with some points.”Get Point AfterGet exclusive analysis and insight on the Patriots and the NFL, delivered to your inbox on weekdays during the season. Enter EmailVrabel credited offensive line coach Doug Marrone, as well as assistants Jason Houghtaling and Jonathan Decoster, with keeping the group ready to go. “They get them the reps that they think they need, whether that’s walkthrough reps or getting Walter Rouse ready, getting Matt [Pryor] ready,” Vrabel said. “Being able to get Caleb Lomu ready on both sides to be the swing tackle — play left one week, play right another. So, those are all real positive, and we’ll need their best efforts this week as we move forward.”The Patriots have put together a three-game winning streak despite injuries, including to wide receiver Romeo Doubs (shoulder), which landed him on injured reserve Monday. After a rocky start to the season, Drake Maye has 10 touchdown passes against one interception over the last three games.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are looking into the mailings, some of which included an unidentified powdery white substance.