Updated: 5:45 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020
Two out-of-state far-right activists have been charged with intimidating voters in Cuyahoga County.
According to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor鈥檚 office, the scheme was allegedly hatched by Jacob Wohl, 22, and Jack Burkman, 54, to deter people from voting by mail.
The pair is accused of sending more than 8,100 robocalls on Aug. 26 to phone numbers in Cleveland and East Cleveland.
The prerecorded messages falsely told people their information could be used by law enforcement to follow up on old warrants, by debt collectors and by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track them in the future for mandatory vaccinations.
鈥淒on't be finessed into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe and beware of vote-by-mail,鈥� a woman's voice on the robocall concludes.
鈥淭hese are all false,鈥� said Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Richard Bell, 鈥渁nd 3,400 of our voters on the east side of Cleveland 鈥� East Cleveland and the Glenville area 鈥� were targeted, targeted specifically so they wouldn鈥檛 exercise their right to vote by mail.鈥�
Wohl and Burkman are each charged with 15 counts of telecommunications fraud and bribery. They face up to 18.5 years in prison.
鈥淭he right to vote is the most fundamental component of our nation鈥檚 democracy,鈥� said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O鈥橫alley in a press release. 鈥淭hese individuals clearly infringed upon that right in a blatant attempt to suppress votes and undermine the integrity of this election.鈥�
The case was referred to Cuyahoga County by the state attorney general鈥檚 office after receiving multiple complaints.
Warrants have been issued for Wohl and Burkman鈥檚 arrest.
Earlier this month, both men were indicted for making similar calls in Detroit and face prison time there. , similar calls were made targeting minority populations in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
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