Right-wing activists accused of multiple felonies in connection with voter intimidation efforts, disinformation about mail-in ballots

In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel addresses the media during a news conference in Lansing, Mich. Jacob Wohl, 22, and Jack Burkman, 54, two notorious conservative operatives were charged Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020 with felonies in connection with false robocalls that aimed to dissuade residents in Detroit and other US cities from voting by mail, Michigan's attorney general announced.

AP Photo/David Eggert

• An arrest warrant has been issued for Jacob Wohl, a right-wing provocateur accused of voter intimidation in Michigan.
• Wohl and an accomplice, John Burkman, are accused of "presenting false and misleading statements about mail-in voting" to Detroit-area residents.
• If convicted, the accused could face jailtime.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Notorious right-wing trickster Jacob Wohl, already banned from Twitter and accused of fabricating sexual assault claims against prominent Democrats, was charged with multiple felonies on Thursday for allegedly trying to intimidate voters in the battleground state of Michigan.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told reporters that the scheme involved false robocalls targeting Detroit and urban areas in at least four additional states, the Associated Press reported. First uncovered in August, the effort purportedly entailed claims that casting a ballot by mail would result in voters' information being forwarded to police and debt collectors.

"Don't be finessed into giving your private information to the man," the calls stated. "Beware of vote by mail."

In an October 1 arrest warrant, Nessel's office formally accuses Wohl and another defendant, John Macauley Burkman, of "presenting false and misleading statements about mail-in voting in a telephone message." The charge carries a possible five-year prison sentence and $11,000 in fines.

Wohl, 22, and Burkman, 54, are also accused of using computers to "attempt to commit, conspire to commit, or solicit another to commit" voter intimidation, which is punishable by seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to the complaint.

The pair, who are avowed supporters of President Donald Trump, carried out some 85,000 calls across the US, according to Nessel, including in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and New York.

Wohl and Burkman denied the allegations in August but, in the wake of the arrest warrant, could not be reached for comment.

It is far from Wohl's first brush with infamy. As a high school student in Arizona, he was implicated in a financial fraud scheme that resulted in a lifetime ban from the National Futures Association, although the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to take any enforcement action.

Wohl and his codefendant, Burkman, were also involved in an effort to fabricate an allegation of sexual assault against former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg of sexual assault, The Daily Beast reported earlier this year.

In 2018, Wohl and Burkman also allegedly crafted a similar plot against special counsel Robert Mueller.

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