‘They will all go to jail’: Trump threatens California officials amid push to reject 20,000 ballots

President Donald Trump threatened California election officials with jail time hours after the Department of Justice (DOJ) warned that they could face “criminal exposure” if they do not disenfranchise thousands of voters the federal government has flagged as potential noncitizens.

“They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” the president wrote in a social media post Friday evening.

Trump’s threat marks the latest escalation in his administration’s effort to directly interfere with the midterms by challenging votes from 20,000 Californians whom it claims, without showing evidence, are possible noncitizens.

After giving California and Los Angeles County just 48 hours to confirm the citizenship of the 20,000 people, the DOJ filed a civil suit against the state and county Thursday seeking a court order barring them from counting ballots from the flagged voters.

Noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare in U.S. elections. The administration has also routinely flagged eligible voters as potential noncitizens throughout its search for noncitizens on state voter registration lists.

In a letter Friday to Los Angeles County’s counsel, the DOJ dramatically escalated its confrontation with California by warning election officials in the state could be criminally liable if they count mail ballots sent to the flagged voters.

“If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime,’ acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter wrote.

Already, the Trump administration’s efforts against California have been marred by errors and security lapses. 

When the DOJ first pressed Los Angeles to set aside ballots from flagged voters, it sent the county a list of names on a password-protected thumb drive. However, county officials were unable to access the list on the thumb drive because of security concerns.

Additionally, county officials confirmed to Democracy Docket that when they finally securely accessed the list, it included voters from across the state, not just Los Angeles County.