Shocking new court filings have unveiled an alleged plot by Trump-era Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to seize voting equipment in Illinois during the contentious 2020 presidential election.
The revelations emerged from a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit government watchdog American Oversight, which obtained documents through Freedom of Information requests. The papers suggest a coordinated effort between Trump allies and federal officials to disrupt the election process in the critical swing state.
The Alleged Scheme
According to the documents, discussions involved using federal agents and even the National Guard to physically confiscate voting machines under the guise of cybersecurity inspections. The plan reportedly targeted Illinois after unfounded claims of election fraud circulated among Trump supporters.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker responded fiercely to the allegations, stating he would have deployed state law enforcement to block any such federal intervention. "We would have stood at the border with our state police to prevent them from coming in," Pritzker declared.
Key Figures Involved
The documents mention several high-profile Trump allies, including:
- Former Trump lawyer Kurt Olsen
- Ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne
- Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli
These individuals allegedly pushed DHS to conduct extraordinary audits of voting systems in key states, despite lacking any evidence of malfeasance.
Legal and Constitutional Implications
Legal experts have expressed alarm at the proposed actions, which would have represented an unprecedented federal overreach into state-run elections. The Constitution explicitly grants states authority over administering federal elections within their borders.
The revelations add to growing evidence of coordinated efforts to overturn the 2020 election results through extraordinary means. Several similar attempts in other battleground states have been documented in various investigations.
As these documents continue to emerge, they paint a disturbing picture of the lengths some officials were willing to go to challenge election results they found unfavourable.
