Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Pro-Trump Voter Suppression Fraudsters Just Pled Guilty–And Their Sentence Feels Like Poetic Justice

Pro-Trump Voter Suppression Fraudsters Just Pled Guilty–And Their Sentence Feels Like Poetic Justice
NBC News/YouTube

Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman must spend 500 hours registering voters after guilty plea.

Conservative conspiracy theorists and right-wing provocateurs Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl pleaded guilty to one felony count of telecommunications fraud. The two ran a series of robocalls with false messages targeting Black voters.

The pair hoped to suppress the Black vote in the 2020 general election.


Charges were brought against the pair by the Ohio Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office in October 2020. Wohl and Burkman's Project 1599 placed phone calls to select area codes across the United States targeting areas with large populations of BIPOC and Democrats.

The robocalls shared misinformation about mail-in voting.

Wohl and Burkman robocalled roughly 85,000 voters in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio in the summer of 2020.

The recording of one call featured a woman saying:

“Mail-in voting sounds great, but did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt?"
"The CDC is even pushing to give preference for mail in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines.”

Calls also warned voters should not be:

“BS’d into giving [their] private information to the man.”

You can hear a recording of one of the calls here:

Example of false information being used to suppress voting in Detroityoutu.be

All claims made in the calls were all false.

Burkman and Wohl were initially charged with eight counts of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of bribery. Both defendants pleaded not guilty.

Wohl told CNN in August 2020:

"We’ve never done any robocalls."
"We are categorically uninvolved."

The pair then reached a plea agreement.

According to Cleveland.com, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor James Gutierrez stated the defendants will pay the maximum fine of $2,500 each. The prosecution dismissed the 14 additional counts against the Wohl and Burkman.

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Ohio's Cuyahoga County Common Pleas court sentenced the pair to two years of probation, six months of monitoring with a GPS ankle bracelet, $2,500 each in fines and 500 hours of registering voters in Washington, D.C.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued the following statement:

"Voter intimidation won’t be tolerated in Ohio."
"My Robocall Enforcement Unit, along with BCI, assisted in the investigation and was able to partner with Prosecutor O’Malley to shut down these two people who were trying to commit voter intimidation.”

Not everyone agreed the punishment fit the crime.




A lawsuit was also filed against the pair by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation in October 2020.

In addition to Ohio, prosecutors in Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania investigated the calls.

The New York Attorney General’s Office sought a fine of $2.75 million. The Federal Communications Commission suggested a fine of over $5.1 million.

More from News

Donald Trump
Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Demands 'Boss Of AT&T' Fix Equipment After Failed Conference Call In Bizarre Meltdown

When most of us have technical difficulties, we contact tech support or customer service.

But if you're President of the United States, just ranting on social media—then having your White House Press Secretary post a screenshot of your post on a social media platform people actually use—is apparently the answer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Lauren Boebert speaking to Alex Stein
Prime Time with Alex Stein/Blaze Media

Lauren Boebert Casts Doubt On Moon Landing During Wild Interview With Conspiracy Theorist

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was criticized after she seemingly agreed with the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked in a wide-ranging interview with conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Stein.

The segment began with the duo casting doubt on nuclear weapons—Boebert even joked about needing "tin foil"—and moved into weirder territory when Stein praised Boebert for "vibing" with him on the topic of the moon landing. Conspiracy theorists have long alleged the moon landing was fabricated by NASA in what they claim was an elaborate hoax.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rosie O'Donnell; Oprah Winfrey
Simon Ackerman/Getty Images; Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images

Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out Oprah For Attending Jeff Bezos' Wedding In Scathing Poem

Among the various celebrity hangers-on who attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Venice wedding, the one that seemed to generate the most controversy was Oprah Winfrey.

After all, a woman known for her progressive politics whose entire ethos is about teaching people how to be their best selves, attending the wedding of man who directly funded a fascist regime dismantling our country before our eyes doesn't exactly add up.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Murkowski
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Lisa Murkowski Slammed After Criticizing Massive Budget Bill She Just Voted For

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was slammed after she claimed that President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill is "not there yet" despite casting the deciding vote to narrowly pass it before sending it back to the House.

In a marathon voting session, the Senate narrowly passed the legislation in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman listening to her boyfriend play guitar
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Things People Initially Found Attractive About Their Partner That Now Annoy Them

Being in a relationship can be wonderful, but it's not without its ups and downs.

In order for it to work, we have to allow it to grow and change over time rather than being locked forever into what it was when we first started dating our person.

Keep ReadingShow less