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POLICE BODY CAMERAS RECORD STUNNED FL VOTERS BEING ARRESTED | MIAMI HERALD

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POLITICS

‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS STATE?’ VIDEO SHOWS STUNNED FLORIDIANS ARRESTED FOR
VOTING

By Lawrence Mower Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Updated October 19, 2022 9:18 AM
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BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE SHOWS STUNNED FLORIDIANS BEING ARRESTED FOR VOTER FRAUD

Body camera footage from the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County
Sheriff's Office shows voters as they were arrested for voter fraud charges in
Florida. By Jennifer Glenfield / Tampa Bay Times | Lawrence Mower / Tampa Bay
Times
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Body camera footage shows stunned Floridians being arrested for voter fraud

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Tallahassee

When police went to arrest Tony Patterson outside his Tampa home in August, he
couldn’t believe the reason.

“What is wrong with this state, man?” Patterson protested as he was being
escorted to a police car in handcuffs. “Voter fraud? Y’all said anybody with a
felony could vote, man.”

Body-worn camera footage recorded by local police captured the confusion and
outrage of Hillsborough County residents who found themselves in handcuffs for
casting a ballot following investigations by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new Office of
Election Crimes and Security.

The Aug. 18 arrests — conducted hours before DeSantis called a news conference
to tout his crackdown on alleged voter fraud — were carried out by state police
officers accompanied by local law enforcement.

The never-before-seen footage, obtained by the Herald/Times through public
records requests, offers a personal glimpse of the effects of DeSantis’ efforts
to root out perceived voter fraud.

“They’re going to pay the price,” DeSantis said during the news conference
announcing the arrests.

Of the 19 people arrested, 12 were registered as Democrats and at least 13 are
Black, the Herald/Times found.

Romona Oliver, 55, was about to leave for work when police walked up her
driveway at 6:52 a.m. and told her they had a warrant for her arrest.

“Oh my God,” she said.

An officer told her she was being arrested for fraud, a third-degree felony, for
voting illegally in 2020.

“Voter fraud?” she said. “I voted, but I ain’t commit no fraud.”

READ MORE: DeSantis announces arrests in Florida for voting fraud

Oliver and 19 others are facing up to five years in prison after being accused
by DeSantis and state police of both registering, and voting, illegally.

They are accused of violating a state law that doesn’t allow people convicted of
murder or felony sex offenses to automatically be able to vote after they
complete their sentence. A 2018 state constitutional amendment that restored the
right to vote to many felons excluded this group.

But, as the videos further support, the amendment and subsequent actions by
state lawmakers caused mass confusion about who was eligible, and the state’s
voter registration forms offer no clarity. They only require a potential voter
to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they’re not a felon, or if they are,
that their rights have been restored. The forms do not clarify that those with
murder convictions don’t get automatic restoration of their rights.

Oliver, who served 18 years in prison on a second-degree murder charge,
registered to vote at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on
Feb. 14, 2020. Six months later, she updated her address and completed another
registration form.

After brief eligibility checks by the Department of State — which reports to
DeSantis and is responsible for cleaning the rolls of ineligible voters — she
was given a voter ID card both times.

READ MORE: ‘Money talks’: DeSantis goes after small-scale voter crimes, is
silent on FPL and Matrix

Oliver wasn’t removed from the rolls until March 30 this year, more than two
years later.

‘THERE’S YOUR DEFENSE’

The recordings by Tampa police and Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies reveal
officers who were patient, understanding — almost apologetic.

A handcuffed Nathan Hart, 49, found a sympathetic ear when he explained how he
ended up registering and voting illegally, according to the sheriff’s office
recording.

As he stood handcuffed, he told officers that he signed up to vote at the
encouragement of somebody at “the driver’s license place.” Records show it was
in March 2020.

“I said, ‘I’m a convicted felon, I’m pretty sure I can’t,’ ” Hart, a registered
sex offender, told officers. “He goes, ‘Well, are you still on probation?’ ”

Hart’s probation had ended a month earlier, Hart recalled. The person told him
to sign up anyway.

“He said, ‘Well, just fill out this form, and if they let you vote, then you
can,’ ” Hart said. “ ‘If they don’t, then you can’t.’ ”

“Then there’s your defense,” one of the officers replied. “You know what I’m
saying? That sounds like a loophole to me.”

“Well, we can hope,” Hart said.

The officer was correct in one way: State law says that a voter has to
“willfully” commit the crime — a hurdle that has forced some prosecutors not to
charge ineligible voters.

In Lake County this year, for example, prosecutors declined to bring charges
against six convicted sex offenders who voted in 2020.

READ MORE: Cases against arrested voters on shaky legal ground. Florida issued
them voter IDs

“In all of the instances where sex offenders voted, each appear to have been
encouraged to vote by various mailings and misinformation,” prosecutor Jonathan
Olson wrote. “Each were given voter registration cards which would lead one to
believe they could legally vote in the election. The evidence fails to show
willful actions on a part of these individuals.”

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Florida voters say they weren't told they couldn't vote, then got arrested for
it
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Two felons from Palm Beach County got arrested for voter fraud after receiving
voter information cards from the government. By Alie Skowronski

‘POLITICAL STRATEGY’

DeSantis’ voter fraud arrests are being carried out by the Office of Statewide
Prosecution, which is restricted by law to prosecuting crimes, including voting,
involving two or more judicial circuits. Those crimes are usually “complex,
often large scale, organized criminal activity,” according to its website. The
statewide prosecutor is Nicholas Cox, who was reappointed by Attorney General
Ashley Moody in 2019.

Oliver’s lawyer, Tampa attorney Mark Rankin, said he thinks DeSantis’ election
security force chose these 20 in particular because the public would not have
sympathy for people who were convicted of murder or sexual offenses. During a
news conference announcing the arrests, DeSantis noted their criminal records.

“That’s not an accident,” Rankin said. “That’s a political strategy.”

READ MORE: ‘How did I commit fraud?’ Ex-felon voters confused by arrests,
DeSantis’ announcement

Public defenders representing Hart and Patterson declined to comment.

Patterson, a registered sex offender, wondered why he was being singled out when
officers showed up at his home, the recording shows.

“This happened years ago,” he told officers. “Why now? Why me?”

Even the Tampa police officer driving Patterson to the jail seemed surprised by
the charges against him. En route, the officer received a phone call and
appeared to briefly discuss Patterson’s case.

“I’ve never seen these charges before in my entire life,” the officer said.

Handcuffed in the back seat, Patterson, 40, stewed. He said his brother
encouraged him to register to vote.

“I always listen to everybody else. Vote for this. Vote for — come on, man,”
Patterson grumbled. “I thought felons were able to vote. That’s why I signed a
petition form, that’s what I remember.

“Why would you let me vote if I wasn’t able to vote?”

“I’m not sure, buddy,” the officer replied. “I don’t know.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2022 5:00 AM.

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