Conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl pleads guilty to felony over 2020 election robocalls
Right-wing activist faces up to one year in prison when sentenced next month
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Right-wing conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl has pleaded guilty to a scheme of misleading 2020 election robocalls to Democratic voters in Cleveland.
Wohl, 24, along with Jack Burkman, 56, face up to one year in prison after they pleaded guilty to a fifth-degree felony charge of telecommunications fraud.
The pair gained national media attention after holding press conferences in which they made false claims against Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans.
This included making false allegations of sexual assault and harassment charges against Pete Buttigieg and former FBI director Robert Mueller.
Prosecutors claimed that their group, Project 1599, placed more than 3,500 robocalls that targeted voters on Cleveland’s East Side and in East Cleveland.
Court papers state that in the calls a woman warned voters against being “finessed into giving your private information to the man.”
The calls falsely claimed that if people voted by mail, which tends to favour Democrats, police and debt-collection agencies could use their information against them.
The scheme also falsely claimed that the US Centers for Disease Control could use their information for a mandatory vaccination programme.
Prosecutors say that they were among more than 85,000 calls that were aimed at minority voters in Democratic areas in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York City and Cleveland.
As part of their plea deals, both men have agreed to pay a maximum fine of $2,500.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge John Sutula will sentence the men on 29 November.