Right-wing tricksters Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were ordered to pay up to $1.25 million in penalties for carrying out a bogus robocall scheme ahead of the 2020 election that was intended to scare away Black voters.
The pair have been sued repeatedly for their roles in various MAGA-related actions, and they conceded to a $1.25 million judgment to New York Attorney General Letitia James, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and other plaintiffs after they were found liable last month for violating multiple federal and state laws, reported The Daily Beast.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and it belongs to everyone," James said in a statement. "We will not allow anyone to threaten that right"
"Wohl and Burkman orchestrated a depraved and disinformation-ridden campaign to intimidate Black voters in an attempt to sway the election in favor of their preferred candidate," the attorney general added. "Now they will pay up to $1.25 million to my office, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and the individuals who were harmed by their scheme. My office will always defend the right to vote.”
The consent decree will remain in place for eight years and forbids the pair from violating various laws, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
ALSO READ: No, Donald Trump, fraud is not protected by the First Amendment
“Defendants shall refrain from knowingly creating, sponsoring, or transmitting any robocall or other Mass Communication that would intimidate or deter voters from voting by any method in any election,” the consent decree states. “Defendants shall refrain from knowingly creating, sponsoring, or transmitting any robocalls or other Mass Communication containing any false or fraudulent information concerning voting, the right to vote, or the conduct of elections.”
If they fail to pay at least $105,000 by the end of this year and do not address that failure within 30 days, their penalty will increase to $1.25 million.
Wohl and Burkman have become infamous for falsely smearing public figures with laughably flimsy evidence, such as their 2018 attempt to portray then-special counsel Robert Mueller as a rapist or claim Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was a sex-crazed "cougar."
A Marine Corps veteran sued the pair earlier this year for allegedly ruining his life by falsely accusing him of being a child predator.