Skip to content

Crime & JusticeBreaking

DOJ charges 16 noncitizens with election crimes across four states

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 7 outlets, mostly right-leaning (86%).

9 articles in total, 2 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The Justice Department announced charges on October 5 against 16 foreign nationals for alleged election crimes, including illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and false claims of U.S. citizenship. Prosecutors brought cases in Florida (2), Louisiana (3), Wisconsin (1), and Minnesota (10). Those charged include nationals of Italy, the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Liberia, Lithuania, Ghana, Germany, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa. One outlet described the defendants as lawful permanent residents, while another called them illegal immigrants. The announcement comes as the Trump administration pursues a broader effort to remove noncitizens from voter rolls ahead of the November midterms. The Washington Times reported that the DOJ has brought more noncitizen voting cases since September than the Biden administration did over four years.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. DOJ announced charges against 16 foreign nationals for election-related crimes on October 5.

    Reported byRight

  2. Charges were filed in Florida (2), Louisiana (3), Wisconsin (1), and Minnesota (10).

    Reported byRight

  3. Alleged crimes include illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, false claims of U.S. citizenship, and false statements on citizenship applications.

    Reported byRight

  4. Just the News reported that all 16 people were lawful permanent residents, while the Washington Examiner described them as illegal immigrants.

    Reported byRight

  5. The Washington Times reported the DOJ has charged more noncitizen voting cases since September than the Biden administration did in four years.

    Reported byRight

  6. The charges come ahead of the November midterm elections amid a broader Trump administration effort to address noncitizen voting.

    Reported byRight

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Whether the 16 defendants are lawful permanent residents or 'illegal immigrants.'

    Just the News states all 16 were lawful permanent residents charged with illegally voting, while the Washington Examiner's headline and text describe them as 'illegal immigrants.'

  • How the pace of noncitizen voting prosecutions under the Trump DOJ compares to the Biden administration.

    The Washington Times claims the DOJ has charged more noncitizen voting cases since September than the Biden administration did over its full four years, a comparison not corroborated by the other outlets in this sample.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the center

    1 outlet

    Mantle’s analysis has no note on this side yet. One of its headlines is shown.

    Examining the DOJ's effort to prosecute non-citizens accused of voting
    PBS NewsHourCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    6 outlets · 1 opinion

    Right-leaning outlets uniformly lead with the number 16 and the word 'charges,' with some outlets (Washington Examiner) using 'illegal immigrants' while others (Just the News, Breitbart) use more legally precise terms like 'aliens' or 'foreign nationals'; RedState's headline is factual but its accompanying commentary is overtly partisan, and the Washington Times frames the story through a comparison with the Biden administration.

    Three foreign nationals charged with voting illegally in Ohio
    The Center SquareRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    as the electoral house burns all around themillegal immigrants

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    as the electoral house burns all around themMore neutral: while Democrats maintain current policies

    The metaphor exaggerates the situation to dramatize political opponents' position rather than describe facts.

    …in point: Illegal voting by non-citizens, which Democrats insist, as the electoral house burns all around them, that is all fine, everything is fine, there isn't enough illegal…

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    illegal immigrantsMore neutral: noncitizens

    The term conflicts with another outlet's description of the same defendants as lawful permanent residents and carries a judgment beyond the stated facts.

    DOJ charges 16 illegal immigrants with voting crimes, including 10 in Minnesota

    Used byWashington Examiner (Right)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Sensational language

    Quoted

    16 ALIENSMore neutral: 16 noncitizens

    The all-caps emphasis on 'aliens' sensationalizes the term rather than stating it neutrally.

    🚨Today, the Justice Department announced charges involving 16 ALIENS in connection with illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related…

    Quoted byRedState (Far Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

1 outlet
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • PBS NewsHourCenter

    Examining the DOJ's effort to prosecute non-citizens accused of voting

    Ahead of the midterm elections, the Department of Justice is leading a high-profile effort to catch and prosecute people they say illegally cast ballots, sometimes holding televised press conferences to make the announcements. …

    Read at PBS NewsHour (opens in a new tab)

From the right

6 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • specific state-by-state and nationality breakdowns
  • the scale and timing of the crackdown relative to the midterms
  • contrast with the Biden administration's record (Washington Times)
  • the broader push to purge noncitizens from voter rolls

Leaves out

  • statements or response from the defendants or Democratic officials
  • the legal immigration status details given by Just the News describing defendants as lawful permanent residents (omitted by Examiner)

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 7 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    1 day 6 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 6, 6:40 PM EDT

  • Right

    First to report

    The Washington Times, Oct 5, 11:55 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Washington TimesRightOct 5, 11:55 AM EDT
  2. Washington ExaminerRightOct 5, 12:37 PM EDT
  3. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 5, 2:05 PM EDT
  4. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 6, 10:40 AM EDT
  5. The Center SquareRightOct 6, 6:34 PM EDT
  6. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 6, 6:40 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page