Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen threatened election officials with criminal prosecution if they did not put Trump's election changes into effect.
Posted by Letters from an American, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support3 context
- Said
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- Confidence
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Letters from an AmericanSep 13, 2026
Multiple tier-1 outlets report that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin (the post misspells him as "Mark Wayne Mullen") threatened state and local election officials with criminal prosecution or prison time if they did not comply with the administration's election security and policy changes.
What was said
… In July, Harmit Dillon, who heads the Civil Rights Division in the DOJ, threatened state election officials with criminal prosecution if any non-citizens cast a ballot in their state, although it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote, and Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen threatened election officials with criminal prosecution if they did not put Trump's election changes into effect. Election officials already follow the laws about retaining documents, so the letters seem to be about threatening them. …
Letters from an American · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters reports that Mullin threatened state officials with fines and criminal charges if they did not comply with election security measures, at a July 17, 2026 news conference.[1]
Supports. The Associated Press reports that Mullin pledged to pursue voter fraud cases and threatened fines, penalties or prison time for state election officials who refuse to hand over sensitive voter data to DHS.[2]
Supports. The New York Times reports that Mullin threatened local election officials with prison time if they did not comply with the Trump administration's efforts to change election policies.[3]
Context. A federal judge later ordered DOJ and DHS to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution, finding that the warning letters likely exceeded their authority, as reported by Heather Cox Richardson citing the Washington Post.[4]
Context. The AP and Seattle Times describe the threats as tied to the administration's election demands, with experts calling them likely hollow, but this does not dispute that the threats were made.[5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1DHS threatens states with fines, charges over election ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2The Latest: DHS Secretary Mullin says he'll chase voter fraud after Trump revives election claimsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Trump's Homeland Security Chief Threatens Election ...nytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4November 1, 2026 - by Heather Cox Richardson - Substackheathercoxrichardson.substack.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 5Trump's homeland security chief threatens election officials with ...seattletimes.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Mullin pushes states to comply with election demands, echoing Trump's claims about midterm riskssfchronicle.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Department of Homeland Security threatened states with fines and charges over election measures.True
- The Department of Justice under Donald Trump is threatening election workers to force them to put Trump's election changes into effect.True
- The Department of Justice has threatened to charge state officials if they find election fraud or unauthorized voting.True
- The Department of Justice under Donald Trump has sent threatening letters to at least 30 top election officials in the states warning them they are under investigation.True
- In July, Harmit Dillon, head of the Civil Rights Division in the DOJ, threatened state election officials with criminal prosecution if any non-citizens cast a ballot in their state.True