CALIFORNIA, USA—The U.S. Department of Justice arrested
Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores, a 30-year-old Honduran citizen and resident of
Winnetka, California, on Friday. He is federally charged with fraudulently
registering to vote and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.
According to the indictment filed by federal prosecutors,
Rivera Flores was born in Honduras, entered the United States in 2002, and
currently holds legal permanent residency, known as a green card. Authorities
maintain that he never obtained U.S. citizenship.
The investigation uncovered an online voter registration
under the name “Darwin Rivera,” associated with the defendant’s address in
Winnetka. Investigators also obtained a certified voter registration
application, proof of registration, and an image of the signature submitted to
the California Secretary of State’s Division of Elections.
According to the Department of Justice, the application
showed the option where the applicant declared themselves a U.S. citizen. The
documents also listed the United States as his place of birth, even though
investigators determined that Rivera Flores was born in Honduras.
Rivera Flores faces two federal felony charges: falsely
claiming U.S. citizenship and fraudulent voter registration. If convicted, each
charge carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
However, authorities clarified an important point: there is
no evidence that Rivera Flores ever voted in any election. The case concerns
the alleged fraudulent registration and the false claim of citizenship, not the
casting of an illegal vote.
The First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District
of California, Bill Essayli, called the arrest “the first of many” and
reiterated his call for an audit of California’s voter registration system. He
questioned the state’s procedures and stated that it may be unknown how many
non-citizens remain registered to vote.