Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that the Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld criminal charges against Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. They were involved in a robocall scam that falsely warned people in Detroit that voting by mail would lead to police tracking them down and credit card companies collecting their debts. The aim was to intimidate mostly Black voters and discourage them from voting, according to the Department of Attorney General.
The Michigan Supreme Court asked the Court of Appeals to review whether the robocalls were false and intended to stop people from voting. The evidence at the preliminary hearing was enough to meet the Supreme Court's requirements. Judge Anica Letica, writing for the majority, said, "There can be no reasonable dispute that voting by mail is a voting procedure." She explained that the calls were about voting because they warned of negative consequences that "will" happen if people used mail-in voting. The court found these messages to be false and meant to scare voters, as reported by the Department of Attorney General.
Attorney General Dana Nessel has charged Jacob Wohl, 25, and Jack Burkman, 57, for a 2020 robocall scheme that tried to intimidate Michigan voters. The charges include election law violations, conspiracy, and computer-related crimes. The robocalls, which targeted nearly 12,000 people, falsely warned that voting by mail could lead to arrest or health problems. After their attempt to have the charges dropped was rejected by Michigan’s courts, the case is set for trial. Nessel said, "Voter intimidation infringes upon the fundamental right to vote. I am grateful the Court of Appeals saw this conduct for what it was—a gross misrepresentation of voting procedures meant to scare voters from participating in our elections," as stated by the Department of Attorney General.
