CA woman to plead guilty to paying people to register to vote, undercover video credited

追加: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]A Los Angeles County woman has agreed to plead guilty to paying people on Skid Row to register to vote. Federal officials announcing the charge against Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong this week, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The national news as Jeff Harris joining us and according to her plea agreement, we do know Brown Armstrong allegedly worked as a petition circulator for nearly two decades. There is striking social media video. What else is coming to light?

[00:00:28]>> So, in that plea agreement, Brown Armstrong admitting to working as a paid petition circulator allegedly targeting the homeless while gathering signatures throughout the Los Angeles area. The bombshell admission coming after federal officials got their hands on an undercover video. The Justice Department announcing this week Brown Armstrong has been federally charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of paying another person to register to vote, including the homeless along LA Skid Row. We're committed to protecting the integrity of all American elections at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, but there needs to be a commitment by people and leaders here in California. According to her plea agreement, Brown Armstrong for nearly two decades worked as a petition circulator being paid by coordinators to gather signatures to qualify initiatives, recalls, and referendums for California state ballots. She paid the homeless around two or three bucks to fill out voter registration forms instructing them to use her own former LA residence. When asked what led federal officials to her, they pointed to this undercover video taken by James O'Keefe and the O'Keefe Media Group.

[00:01:32]Because you have to register, I need to register you so I can get paid, too.

[00:01:36]I'm paying you guys. I need to get paid.

[00:01:38]In it, you can see and hear Brown Armstrong handing out cash in exchange for those signatures. I think that was widely reported.

[00:01:46]Um it was all over the press and uh as a result of that, we initiated and opened up a criminal investigation with the FBI. Correspondent with O'Keefe Media Group, Michael Casey, was with the team on Skidrow filming undercover. He tells the national newsdesk on Tuesday these federal charges prove their hard work paid off. It wasn't just, you know, a slap on the wrist. This is actual real result. This is a guilty plea, and I think it's just the beginning. So, this is really the fruit of our labor paying off right now. Casey adding with this guilty plea the quote dam has broken as he expects more indictments to be handed down. She is pleading guilty for a reason, you know. She's She pled guilty right off the bat. She's definitely naming names. She's definitely telling people, you know, where where her sources were, who her contacts were, who's directing her to do this illegal activity. And I think and I hope that that's going to lead to much more indictments. A thought echoed by federal officials while announcing Brown-Armstrong's charge. This is an ongoing active investigation. Ms. Brown is simply the first person that we are announcing charges for in this investigation resulting from some undercover videos that took place at Skid Row. Now, Brown-Armstrong has already made her initial court appearance after agreeing to plead guilty. She faces a maximum of up to 5 years in federal prison and is expected to officially enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks. Reporting for the national newsdesk, I'm Jeff Harris.