Two notorious right-wing fraudsters behind an election misinformation campaign in Michigan and other states agreed to pay up to $1.25 million on Tuesday as part of a lawsuit settlement.
New York Attorney General Letitia James reached the agreement with Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, who were charged with multiple felony counts in Michigan in 2020 for making robocalls with bogus claims to discourage Black voter turnout in the Detroit area.
James, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), and several others sued the conservative activists in May 2021 after James’s office found that Wohl and Burkman orchestrated a voter suppression campaign to spread election misinformation targeting Black voters.
A federal judge ruled in James’s favor in March 2023, saying the fraudsters “set into motion a full-scale voter suppression operation during the summer of 2020 to discourage eligible voters from voting by targeting mail-in voting in the 2020 Election.”
On Tuesday, James’s office reached the $1.25 million settlement.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and it belongs to everyone,” James said in a settlement. “We will not allow anyone to threaten that right. Wohl and Burkman orchestrated a depraved and disinformation-ridden campaign to intimidate Black voters in an attempt to sway the election in favor of their preferred candidate. Now they will pay up to $1.25 million.”
Jacob and Wohl also agreed to refrain from election-related mass communications that are intimidating, threatening, or include false information over the next eight years.
In the Michigan criminal case, a judge ordered Jacob and Wohl to call back the victims and admit the messages were illegal. Wohl and Burkman have argued their actions are protected by the First Amendment. The case made its way to the Michigan Supreme Court, which has not yet made a decision.
To churn out the robocalls, Wohl and Jacobs sought a Black voice actress to make the recording, which they called their “Black robo.” The call falsely claimed that personal information used on mail-in ballots could lead to arrests for outstanding arrest warrants or be used to collect unpaid credit card debts. The calls also falsely warned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could use the information to track people for mandatory vaccines.
An estimated 85,000 robocalls with false information were made in Michigan, Ohio and New York.
In the civil case, a judge ruled that Jacob and Wohl violated the Voting Rights Act, Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, and the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“These men engaged in a conspiracy to suppress Black votes in the 2020 general election,” NCBCP President and CEO Melanie Campbell said in a statement. “They used intimidation and scare tactics, attempting to spread harmful disinformation about voting in an effort to silence Black voices. Their conduct cannot and will not be tolerated. This settlement serves as a marker for those who seek to engage in such efforts. There will be consequences for their actions. They will pay for the harm they cause to our democracy.”
Civil rights attorneys said they hope the lawsuit settlement sends a message that voter suppression won’t be tolerated.
“This groundbreaking settlement should send an emphatic message to anyone who aims to prevent Black people from exercising their right to vote,” said Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which represented NCBCP. “Voter suppression and voter intimidation are illegal, immoral, and anti-democratic. Regardless of whether the perpetrators are government actors or private citizens, your actions will have consequences, and you will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. At a time when orchestrated voter intimidation and disinformation campaigns are on the rise, we must all remain vigilant in working to ensure that access to the ballot is fair, easy, and accessible.”
