FBI arrests Honduran activist on illegal voter registration charges amid California fraud sweep

Federal agents detained Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores, a Honduran national living in the San Fernando Valley, on charges of illegally registering to vote by falsely stating U.S. citizenship. The arrest, carried out outside a Ventura health-care facility, is described by Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli as the first of many expected in a statewide effort to root out non-citizen voter registrations. Essayli highlighted California’s permissive registration system, which allows individuals to sign up online and vote by mail with minimal ID verification, and noted the state’s refusal to share voter rolls with federal authorities.

The FBI’s operation follows a series of investigations reported by The California Post, including a suspected pay-for-vote scheme targeting homeless residents on Skid Row. Rivera Flores, who previously pleaded guilty to disrupting an anti-ICE demonstration and received a year of probation, maintains his innocence and is scheduled for a federal court appearance in downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege he used his driver’s license to complete the registration and never obtained U.S. citizenship, a prerequisite for voting in federal and local elections.