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Joshua Melichukwu Akpom, a 27-year-old Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2016, is charged with false statements in relation to naturalization for denying he had claimed U.S. citizenship or voted in the 2018 general election.

Posted by VINCE, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
5 support
Said
1 time·
Confidence
92%
VINCESep 16, 2026
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The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas (DOJ press release) and the Texas Attorney General both report that Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, a 27-year-old Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2016, was charged with false statements in relation to naturalization for denying on his 2026 naturalization application that he had claimed U.S.

What was said

… Yeah, she voted in the 2024 general election in Tarrant County, Texas. She later admitted she was not a U.S. Citizen. Then there's Joshua, let's see here, Melichukwu Akpom, a 27-year-old citizen, also Nigeria, lawful permanent resident since 2016, charged with false statements in relation to naturalization, falsely denied on a 2026 naturalization application that he had ever claimed U.S. Citizenship, registered to vote, or voted, despite registering and then subsequently voting in the 2018 general election. Carlos Salas Barrios is 41 years old, Mexican citizen, who and also voted in the general election in 2024. Not a citizen, voted illegally, now busted. …
VINCE · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. The DOJ press release lists Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom as a 27-year-old citizen of Nigeria and lawful permanent resident since 2016, charged with false statements in relation to naturalization for denying on his 2026 naturalization application that he had claimed U.S. citizenship, registered to vote, or voted.[1]

Supports. The Texas Attorney General's release says Nigerian national Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom was arrested for False Statements in Relation to Naturalization.[2]

Supports. WFAA and Yahoo/News coverage report the same charge: a naturalization false-statement charge based on denying voting or registering, despite registering in 2017 and voting in 2018, with the 2018 vote not charged because of the statute of limitations.[3][4]

Supports. NBC DFW coverage repeats the DOJ description, including the 27-year-old Nigerian citizen, LPR since 2016, and the 2018 general election vote.[5]

Context. Prosecutors say the 2018 voting conduct fell outside the five-year statute of limitations, so the charge rests on the naturalization false statement rather than the vote itself; the claim's wording is consistent with this.[1][3][5]

Sources

5 sources: 2 primary, 3 not rated

  1. 1Federal prosecutors crack down on illegal voting: Seven non ...justice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
  2. 2Attorney General Ken Paxton Announces the Arrest of ...texasattorneygeneral.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
  3. 3Seven noncitizens charged in North Texas voter fraud crackdownwfaa.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
  4. 4Seven Arrested In North Texas Federal Election Integrity ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  5. 5Tarrant County illegal voting charges involve nine people ...nbcdfw.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context

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