The Governor of FloridaRon DeSantis has announced the making of 20 arrests in the state for voter fraud, in a case related to the 2020 elections.
Some of those arrested are from South Florida, but none are Hispanic, and the reasons for the arrests are related to their criminal records that prohibited them from voting, such as having committed homicide, harassment or sexual assault.
“Most of these people voted illegally in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison (for illegal voting),” the governor said.
In 2020, FL ran one of the most secure & transparent elections in the US, but we have more work to do. That’s why I established an election crimes unit. @fdlepio has charged 20 murderers & sex offenders who weren’t eligible to vote w/ election fraud. They face 5 yrs in prison. pic.twitter.com/eNXksxOtEI
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 18, 2022
According to official data, two men were arrested in Miami-Dade County, who identified themselves as Robert Lee Wood, 56, of Opa-Locka, and Ronald Lee Miller, 57, of Miami.
Meanwhile, two other men were also arrested in Broward County. They are Nathaniel Singleton, 71, and Eugene Suggs, 65.
“They are being charged and arrested for voter fraud. This is a third-degree felony in the state of Florida,” added DeSantis, who also said those individuals could also face a $5,000 fine.”
A third person from South Florida, Terry Hubbard, 63, of Pompano Beach, was notified to appear before a judge.
The arrests come a month after the Florida Bureau of Election Crimes and Security, an agency that investigates potential voting irregularities, went into operation. The agency was created by DeSantis, who has been accused by Democrats of setting up that investigative group to harm them.
The other 15 people were arrested in Hillsborough, Orange and Palm Beach counties for electoral crimes in an election in which 11,144,855 voters voted in Florida alone.
However, Nathalie Jackson, an activist for the rights of African Americans, complained that the arrests were only against that community. “We are facing a pattern of arrests that clearly shows which community the governor wants to harm,” she told Local 10, the local affiliate of the television station. ABC.
The Florida police (FDLE, for its acronym in English) revealed that the identification of the detainees was made by contrasting the electoral lists with the criminal records.
