The Justice Department under President Trump has announced a federal election integrity charge against a California woman accused of paying people to register to vote. Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, of Marina del Rey, faces one felony count of paying another person to register to vote. Federal prosecutors say she agreed to plead guilty. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison. FBI RESPONDS: Director of the FBI Kash Patel's statement on the indictment of Brenda Brown from our Skid Row Election Fraud Investigation. @FBIDirectorKash https://t.co/pdKseUWKFH — James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) May 18, 2026 According to the Justice Department, Armstrong worked for roughly 20 years as a petition circulator, collecting signatures for ballot initiatives. Prosecutors say she regularly paid people small amounts of cash to sign petitions. The Justice Department laid out the alleged voter registration scheme this way: “False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections, even more so when payoffs are involved,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling, so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence.” According to her plea agreement, Armstrong periodically worked as a petition circulator for approximately 20 years. She was paid by coordinators to collect voter signatures on official petitions that qualify initiatives, referendums, and recalls for California state ballots. Armstrong regularly paid and offered to pay individuals cash, usually between $2 and $3, to induce them to sign her petitions. Starting no later than 2025, she began offering payment to complete voter registration forms in addition to petition signatures. Some homeless people did not have an address to put on the forms. On several occasions, Armstrong provided a homeless individual with her own former address in Los Angeles so they had something to write on the registration form. Because California automatically sends a vote-by-mail ballot to every registered voter, prosecutors noted that ballots could potentially be sent to addresses where the registered individuals did not actually live or collect mail. BREAKING: California woman to plead guilty for paying homeless people on Skid Row to register to votehttps://t.co/xyzu69lLpQ — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 18, 2026 The announcement comes after conservative journalist James O’Keefe said his undercover investigation captured petitioners admitting they were paid for signatures. O’Keefe said his team posed as homeless individuals on Los Angeles Skid Row using hidden cameras. The Washington Examiner reported on the connection between the O’Keefe investigation and the federal charge. The Justice Department announced Monday that it charged a California woman with violating the law by paying people to register to vote. Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, was charged with one felony count of paying homeless people living in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles, and other individuals, to register. Armstrong, also known as Anika, faces up to five years in prison and has agreed to plead guilty, according to prosecutors. Her coordinators only paid for signatures attributable to registered voters. Prosecutors say that led Armstrong to pay homeless people in Los Angeles to register to vote so they could add their signatures to petitions involving initiatives, referendums, and recalls. “Armstrong regularly paid and offered to pay individuals cash, usually in amounts between $2 and $3, to induce them to sign her petitions,” prosecutors said. “Starting no later than 2025, Armstrong began offering payment to individuals not only to sign her petitions, but also to complete a voter registration form.” The development comes after conservative media figure James O’Keefe said Sunday that his undercover investigation found petitioners admitted they are paid $7 to $10 per signature, sometimes earning $1,000 or more per day. O’Keefe said he and his team posed as homeless individuals on Skid Row, using hidden cameras to capture Armstrong on camera. Armstrong appeared Monday morning in a Santa Ana courtroom. First U.S. Assistant Attorney Bill Essayli explained the mechanics of the alleged scheme at a news conference. According to NBC Los Angeles: Federal authorities identified Brown Armstrong as a longtime petition circulator. She collected voter signatures on official petitions that qualify initiatives, referendums, and recalls for election ballots. The signed petitions were returned to coordinators, who provided payment for signatures that could be attributed to registered voters. Some of the signatures were collected in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Federal prosecutors alleged that Brown Armstrong paid $2 to $3 and offered cigarettes and phone cards in exchange for signatures on petitions. “While Skid Row offered a high-density location to collect petition signatures, many of the homeless people were not registered to vote in California,” court documents stated. “Before she could have a homeless person sign a petition, she first needed to get them to register to vote, and that’s what she paid them to do,” First U.S. Assistant Attorney Bill Essayli said at a Monday news conference. It was not immediately clear how many people were registered to vote. The case represents the kind of election integrity enforcement that conservatives have long called for. For years, concerns about vulnerabilities in voter registration systems were dismissed as conspiracy theories. Now the Trump DOJ has brought a federal charge with an agreed guilty plea. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

President Trump’s Justice Department announced Monday that a California man has been arrested on a federal hate crime charge for allegedly assaulting a Jewish man near a Los Angeles synagogue. Zaid Gitesatani, 28, of Carlsbad, California, was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested by the FBI. The charge stems from an alleged assault that occurred in June 2024 outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced the arrest on X. This morning in CA, our FBI colleagues arrested Zaid Gitesatani, who was indicted by a grand jury for his alleged assault on a Jewish man outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles, CA in 2024. Antisemitic violence is un-American and illegal! @CivilRights @USAttyEssayli… pic.twitter.com/E5OlrIkfGA — AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) May 18, 2026 The Justice Department released details of the indictment: A San Diego County man was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment charging him with assaulting a Jewish man near a synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles. The synagogue was hosting an event to promote the purchase of real estate in Israel, an event protested by several pro-Palestinian groups. “The defendant’s conduct, if proven, is a serious violation of the law.” “Every American deserves to live without fear of violence based on who he is or how he worships,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously prosecuting such crimes of hate and violence.” Zaid Gitesatani, 28, of Carlsbad, California, is charged with one count of hate crime. According to the indictment, a federal grand jury returned the charge on May 5. According to the indictment, a real estate agency called “My Home in Israel” had scheduled an event at the synagogue on June 23, 2024. Several pro-Palestinian groups organized a protest at the location. Prosecutors allege Gitesatani traveled from San Diego to Los Angeles specifically to attend the protest. Los Angeles – Zaid Gitesatani has been charged federally with a hate crime after he physically attacked a Jewish man outside the Adas Torah synagogue in 2024. Gitesatani approached the victim from behind and punched him in the face in what investigators describe as an… pic.twitter.com/Lw70K3kV97 — StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) May 18, 2026 MyNewsLA reported on the details of the alleged assault: On the afternoon of the event, a Jewish man whose name was not revealed in court papers was walking his dog near the synagogue. Gitesatani approached from behind and punched him in the jaw, according to federal prosecutors. Gitesatani then walked away and retreated into the crowd, the indictment contends. On the same day, Gitesatani allegedly posted to his Instagram account a screenshot of the assault. The post included a message that read, “Whooped the Zios today and we took their flag,” along with two images of himself displaying his bruised knuckles following the assault, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ alleges that in the days after the assault, Gitesatani had an Instagram exchange with another user regarding the attack. He allegedly wrote, “I whopped 2 zios,” “I swung good on them” and “It was satisfying.” If convicted, Gitesatani could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors noted. The indictment also alleges Gitesatani posted a still image of the assault with the caption, “The Chosen People sometimes need a good smack to wake up.” If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison. The incident at the synagogue drew national attention in 2024. Israel National News reported on the scene that day: Reports from the scene of the June 2024 event said protesters surrounded the synagogue and prevented Jews from entering. Pro-Israel counterprotesters also gathered at the location. Clashes later broke out between the groups, with members of both sides pushing, shoving, and throwing punches. One anti-Israel protester allegedly sprayed bear mace at members of the opposing group as well as at an independent journalist at the scene. Police responded in riot gear and arrested one individual on a misdemeanor charge for allegedly carrying a “spiked flag” during the protest. Following the incident, then-President Joe Biden condemned the violence and wrote on X, “I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles.” “Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” Biden added. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship and engaging in violence is never acceptable.” The former DOJ under Attorney General Merrick Garland announced an investigation into the violence but brought no federal charges. Now, under President Trump, the Justice Department has acted. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Peaceful protest is constitutionally protected. Alleged violence outside a house of worship is exactly where federal civil rights enforcement belongs. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

President Trump has dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which alleged the agency failed to protect Trump and the Trump Organization from an unauthorized leak of their tax returns. The dropped lawsuit comes amid the Justice Department announcing the creation of a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The Justice Department said the fund was part of a settlement agreement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service. “Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. There are no partisan requirements to file a claim. Any money left when the Fund ceases operations will revert to the Federal Government,” the Justice Department said. “There is legal precedent for such a Fund, most notably the ‘Keepseagle’ case where the Obama Administration created a $760 million fund to redress various claims alleging racism against the federal government over a period of decades,” it added. Justice Department Announces Anti-Weaponization Fund: Part of settlement agreement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. There are no partisan… — U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) May 18, 2026 ABC News explained further: The commission overseeing the compensation fund would have the total authority to hand out approximately $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who alleges they were harmed by the Biden administration’s “weaponization” of the legal system, including the nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack as well as potentially entities associated with President Trump himself. While the settlement is expected to be agreed upon in the coming days, sources caution that the final terms will not be set until they are officially announced. In addition to a public apology from the IRS, the compensation fund is believed to be the main condition for Trump to drop a series of legal actions he filed against the federal government, including the $10 billion lawsuit related to the 2019 leak of his tax returns as well as $230 million in legal claims related to the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office, sources familiar with the ongoing deliberations said. The settlement terms are expected to prohibit Trump from directly receiving payments related to those three legal claims; however, entities associated with Trump are not explicitly barred from filing additional claims, sources said. “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” he added. “The use of government power to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any Administration,” said Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people. President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told ABC News. House Democrats criticized the fund, urging a judge to block the resolution. Democrats: DOJ’s $1.776B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund ‘raises the specter of corruption unparalleled’https://t.co/gLG82SF4tx — The Hill (@thehill) May 18, 2026 More from the Associated Press: Nearly 100 Democrats in the House of Representatives signed onto a legal brief urging a judge to block what they described as an unprecedented resolution that they said would unjustly enrich people close to the president with taxpayer dollars and open the door to meritless claims of political persecution. “This is one of the single most corrupt acts in American history,” Donald Sherman, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in a statement. The fund would represent not only a highly unorthodox resolution but also a further demonstration of the administration’s eagerness to reward allies of Trump who have long insisted that they have been unjustly investigated and in some cases charged and convicted. Most notably, the president on his first day back in office pardoned or commuted the sentences of supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His Justice Department since then has approved payouts to supporters entangled in the Trump-Russia investigation and investigated and prosecuted some of his perceived adversaries. Trump’s attorneys suggested in their court filing seeking to dismiss the case that the resolution would not be reviewable by a judge. But a group of 93 members of Congress filed a brief teeing up a challenge. “This case is nothing but a racket designed to take $1.7 billion of taxpayer dollars out of the Treasury and pour it into a huge slush fund for Trump at DOJ to hand out to his private militia of insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists, including those who brutally beat police officers on January 6, 2021, and sycophant accomplices to his election stealing schemes,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday issued a preliminary injunction, directing Children’s Hospital Colorado to resume offering transgender procedures for minors while a lawsuit over access continues. “In a 5-2 decision, the state’s highest court concluded there is sufficient evidence that Children’s violated state antidiscrimination law when it suspended gender-affirming care earlier this year in the face of mounting federal threats,” The Colorado Sun reports. BREAKING: The Colorado Supreme Court just ruled 5-2 in favor of Children’s Hospital Colorado, restoring their ability to perform g*nital mutilations of children. Colorado courts want children to be butchered in the name of radical gender ideology. pic.twitter.com/UQmi9TBVTG — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 18, 2026 More from The Colorado Sun: The majority ordered the case be returned to a lower court, where it said a judge should issue an injunction requiring that Children’s resume the care, which in this instance includes prescriptions for things like puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Writing for the majority, Justice William Hood wrote that Children’s — or CHC, as Hood shorthanded it — had continued providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to cisgender children when medically appropriate. That made the decision to stop providing them to transgender youth discrimination. “CHC’s decision to suspend medical gender-affirming care to youth denies petitioners the full and equal enjoyment of services based on gender identity,” he wrote. In a dissent, Justice Brian Boatright wrote that the majority opinion too easily dismisses the context in which Children’s made its decision: threats from the federal government that could result in the entire hospital system being shut because of its provision of gender-affirming care. Justice Carlos Samour joined the dissent. Children’s Hospital Colorado, along with Denver Health, halted all transgender procedures for minors, citing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) saying it would restrict federal funding from institutions that provide the procedures to minors. “According to the court, CHC received $182.6 million in funding in 2024, mostly from the federal government. Almost half of the hospital’s patients were Medicaid enrollees,” KKTV stated. “As a result, losing federal funding could have a significant impact on the hospital,” it added. Colorado Supreme Court sides with transgender youth in fight against Children’s Hospital Colorado https://t.co/uhcbb8ykoW — The Colorado Sun (@ColoradoSun) May 18, 2026 KKTV noted: The dissenting opinion also argued that the use of puberty blockers for kids suffering from precocious puberty is medically different from their use for kids struggling with gender dysphoria. In a statement, CHC responded to the decision saying the hospital is “reviewing the court’s ruling and assessing our next steps. While we do not have updates to share at this time, we will provide guidance in the near future.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill on Monday announced the “arrest of 60 registered sex offenders as part of Operation Restricted Domain in the Greater Baton Rouge area.” “There are NO safe havens in Louisiana for those who prey on our children,” she added. BREAKING: Today I’m announcing the arrest of 60 registered sex offenders as part of Operation Restricted Domain in the Greater Baton Rouge area. There are NO safe havens in Louisiana for those who prey on our children.https://t.co/7KbccYUkcw pic.twitter.com/dGJgEqdwQI — Attorney General Liz Murrill (@AGLizMurrill) May 18, 2026 More from Murrill’s office: Investigators used secure law enforcement databases and other resources to identify registered sex offenders in violation of Louisiana law and registration requirements. Through coordinated enforcement across the Greater Baton Rouge area, 60 offenders were arrested. Investigations are ongoing, and additional charges are expected. “Operation Restricted Domain was a major success and sends a clear message: there are no safe havens in Louisiana for those who prey on children. We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill. Since taking office in January 2024, Murrill noted that Louisiana’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has expanded from 8 to more than 80 partner agencies statewide. This year alone, through May 10, Louisiana has received nearly 27,000 cyber tips, compared to more than 31,000 cyber tips received in all of 2025. The ICAC Task Force and Cyber Crime Unit have made a total of 292 arrests, identified 36 child victims, and rescued 32 children from ongoing abuse investigations just this year. Attorney General Murrill also urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activity, emphasizing that law enforcement cannot do this alone and that parents are the first line of defense. “Operation Restricted Domain” was a two-month, multi-agency operation led by the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. “Thank you to all our local, state, and federal agencies for their cooperation and hard work during Operation Restricted Domain. My Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents and I will continue working alongside our partners on the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to track down predators, put them behind bars, and protect Louisiana’s children at all costs,” Murrill wrote on X. Thank you to all our local, state, and federal agencies for their cooperation and hard work during Operation Restricted Domain. My Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents and I will continue working alongside our partners on the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task… pic.twitter.com/HMTqCaPo7B — Attorney General Liz Murrill (@AGLizMurrill) May 18, 2026 WAFB noted: Several law enforcement agencies participated in the operation, including Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office, Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Helena Parish Sheriff’s Office, West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office, West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office; Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana State Police, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, Division of Probation and Parole; along with District Attorney Hillar Moore’s Office, District Attorney Tony Clayton’s Office, District Attorney Scott Perrilloux’s Office, District Attorney Ricky Babin’s Office, and District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla’s Office, which will likely handle most of the prosecutions.