Attorney General Ken Paxton Announces the Arrest of Foreign Nationals Who Voted Illegally in the 2024 Election

AUSTIN, TX -- Attorney General Ken Paxton is announcing the arrest of seven noncitizens who had been indicted for illegal activity related to the 2024 general election.

For years, Attorney General Paxton has investigated ballot harvesting operations and illegal voting activity. As a result, numerous indictments, arrests, prosecutions, and charges have been made to protect the integrity of our elections. Attorney General Paxton had previously announced investigations into potential noncitizens voting in the 2024 election. Due to findings of the OAG, Attorney General Paxton, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the FBI, and HSI have collaborated to charge seven individuals in Texas for illegal voting activity. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas indicted these individuals last week.

“Foreign influence has no place in American elections. Today, my office is announcing our efforts to arrest foreigners who attempted to cheat the system and violate our laws that uphold election integrity,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I will not tolerate attempts to rig elections and silence the will of American citizens and voters. I will continue to fight to ensure that Texas has free and fair elections.”

Mexican citizen Carlos Salas Barrios was arrested for Voting by an Alien. Nigerian national Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom was arrested for False Statements in Relation to Naturalization. Nigerian national Helen Mayen Adams, Indian citizen Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, Mexican citizen Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, Democratic Republic of the Congo national Celestin Kuasa Katubadi, and Mexican citizen Rocio Thrasher were all five arrested for both Voting by an Alien and False Statements of Citizenship in Order to Register to Vote.