Overview
- Federal agents arrested Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores in Los Angeles and charged him on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, with fraudulent voter registration and false claim of U.S. citizenship.
- Prosecutors say court records and a DOJ affidavit show Rivera Flores is a lawful permanent resident who used a driver’s license to register, checked a box saying he was a U.S. citizen, and did not cast a ballot.
- Investigators linked the arrest to an online voter-registration record and a signed application and said Rivera Flores sent taunting texts to a Homeland Security agent after a February protest that earlier drew a guilty plea and probation.
- The DOJ and White House framed the case as the opening of a broader crackdown on noncitizen registration and reiterated requests that California allow a full audit of its voter rolls.
- California officials say the state verifies registrants against DMV and Social Security data and require an attestation under penalty of perjury, but federal authorities criticize those methods and blame the state’s refusal to share voter-roll data for hampering their review.