Great Lakes Wire

The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld criminal charges against Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, confirming the Circuit Court's decision to deny a motion to quash the charges. This development was announced by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The court found sufficient evidence indicating that a robocall issued by the defendants was intentionally false, related to voting procedures, and aimed at deterring voters from participating in the election.

"Voter intimidation infringes upon the fundamental right to vote," stated Nessel. "I am grateful the Court of Appeals saw this conduct for what it was—a gross misrepresentation of voting procedures meant to scare voters from participating in our elections. We look forward to continuing with the criminal case and bringing this matter to trial."

In June, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting voter intimidation also cover intentional false speech about voting requirements or procedures if intended to deter or influence votes. It instructed the Court of Appeals to review whether Burkman and Wohl's actions met these criteria. On Friday, the appeals court confirmed that their conduct matched each element defined by the Supreme Court's interpretation.

Judge Anica Letica wrote for the majority, stating: "There can be no reasonable dispute that voting by mail is a voting procedure. That is, voting by mail is ‘a particular way of accomplishing’ voting, which fits the definition of ‘procedure.’ The robocall was related to the procedure because it alleged that, if a voter used the voting procedure identified, certain negative events ‘will’ occur."

Attorney General Nessel charged Burkman and Wohl in October 2020 in Detroit's 36th District Court for allegedly orchestrating robocalls aimed at suppressing votes among predominantly Black voters in Detroit during the 2020 general election. The calls falsely claimed that voting by mail would result in personal information being used by police and credit card companies or tracked for mandatory vaccines.

The robocall identified Burkman and Wohl as responsible parties and claimed they were founders of "Project 1599." It ended with a message warning recipients not to be "finessed into giving your private information to the man."

Jack Burkman, 57, and Jacob Wohl, 25, face multiple felony charges including bribing/intimidating voters and conspiracy. They allegedly targeted urban areas across several states with nearly 12,000 calls made in late August 2020.

After being formally charged, both men sought unsuccessfully to have their charges dismissed through various courts. Ultimately, their appeal was denied by both the Michigan Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.