Perryman Connects the Dots Between Violence by Federal Agents, Threats DOJ is Making in Minnesota, and New Evidence Revealed in Court that Shows a Path to Election Interference
Washington, D.C. – Following the killing of another U.S. citizen by a federal officer in Minneapolis, and on the heels of a troubling demand letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that appears to extort the state with an offer to pull federal agents out in exchange for access to state voter rolls, among other things, Democracy Forward President & CEO Skye Perryman was on MS Now’s The Weekend and Alex Witt Reports yesterday to discuss the latest in Minnesota.
Attorney General Bondi’s threat regarding voter data is one in a series of troubling actions by the Trump-Vance administration to access – and potentially share unlawfully – American’s sensitive information. Last week brought a bombshell revelation in Democracy Forward’s case to block the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from accessing information at the Social Security administration. New filings from the government revealed that DOGE accessed and may have shared Americans’ personal Social Security information with an external election-denial group as part of its efforts to undermine election integrity. Democracy Forward has launched an investigation seeking records concerning unlawful DOGE employee access to sensitive Social Security data and signing a voter data agreement and demanded the U.S. Department of Justice prove they haven’t destroyed documents.
Key Perryman Excerpts:
- On the letter from DOJ to Governor Walz on elections: “This extortion letter being sent to Minnesota, that was an extortion letter trying to say ‘you give us access to your voter rolls so we can try to potentially interfere with upcoming elections.’ We also saw last week the Department of Justice make a bombshell filing in another case we are litigating. DOGE officials apparently did remove individual data from the Social Security Administration, exfiltrating that data to servers outside the government. An unauthorized DOGE official signed a voter data agreement with an unidentified third party institution that we believe could be one of the voter denying organizations. We are actively investigating that and pushing accountability… What we are seeing unfold in Minnesota is not about immigration or protests, it is about an autocratic power grab. It looks like they are heading for our elections. That is the work of the next year to resist that and protect our free and fair elections.”
- On concerns that eyewitnesses were denied access to counsel: “This is really concerning and one of the main things we want to make sure every American is following — senior White House officials have reported it the past few days — this is an administration committed to an autocratic agenda and they don’t want the people to see what is happening. They are trying to block people from recording ICE – which you have a First Amendment right to, they are trying to block people from protesting by engaging in extortion of the American people saying ‘we’ll keep you safe if you get out of the street.’ They are depriving even eyewitnesses of the ability to tell their story. I am unaware of any basis that they would have had to detain eye witnesses without counsel.”
Key Perryman Excerpts:
- On the DOJ request for voter information from Minnesota: “What is happening in Minnesota is not about immigration or safety — it is about the administration’s attempt to engage in a broad autocratic power grab with this extortion letter. It says that they’ll keep them safe if they hand over the voter rolls. It is really important if we as lawyers and every American start connecting the dots. This is about a broader power grab than even what we’ve seen with the death and killing of American citizens by federal agents.”
- On the autocratic actions by the federal government: “Todd Blanche and other officials are gaslighting the public. They want people to deny what they are seeing with their own eyes. Yesterday we were having to be in touch with lawyers for eyewitnesses who were trying to get in touch with their clients. The administration detained people who did nothing other than watch what the federal agents did in killing an American citizen. We have seen the Minnesota government trying to protect their communities. Yesterday the federal government tried to keep local law enforcement and investigators from being able to investigate. DHS is trying to investigate itself, this is totally abnormal, improper, and harmful.”
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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
