A U.S. citizen was found not guilty Tuesday of illegally voting in the 2018 election when she was a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
Ebola fears surge on the ground in Congo over rapid spread of a rare typeOfficers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fundUS government agrees to drop tax claims against Trump in broadening of IRS lawsuit settlementJason Kidd is out as coach of the Mavericks, 2 weeks after the hiring of team president Masai Ujiri'Minotaur,' about murder and corruption in Putin's Russia, jolts the Cannes Film FestivalTrump discloses thousands of stock trades, some in companies directly influenced by his policiesA humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker in Chilean Patagonia — and it's all captured on camera1 million bees make for bumper-to-buzzer traffic on a Tennessee highway rampBeing a night owl may not be great for your heart but you can do something about itA photo captures black spots on clothespins that reveal the environmental toll of conflict in TehranKansas farmers hit hard by weather extremes and growing costs, wheat crop could be worst since 1972US health officials order quarantine for 2 passengers from cruise ship with hantavirus outbreakWhat to know about the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola causing an outbreak in CongoAffordable Care Act enrollment projected to plunge by 5 million as costs spike, analysis showsOne Tech Tip: Don't use rice for your device.
Here's how to dry out your smartphoneThousands flocked to the National Mall in Washington for an America-themed prayer rallyGobierno de EEUU acepta retirar reclamos fiscales contra Trump como parte de acuerdo en demanda
Here's how to dry out your smartphoneThousands flocked to the National Mall in Washington for an America-themed prayer rallyGobierno de EEUU acepta retirar reclamos fiscales contra Trump como parte de acuerdo en demandaMaria Dearaujo testifies in her own defense at trial Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. A U.S. citizen was found not guilty Tuesday of illegally voting in the 2018 election when she was a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
A guilty verdict would have led to up to 18 months in prison for Maria Dearaujo, 63. But Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown sided with the defense’s argument of entrapment. This generally entails a government actor leading a person into committing a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed. Brown, a Democrat, said Dearaujo’s trial testimony lines up with the documentary evidence.
She admitted to “inconvenient” facts like having voted when she knew she was not a citizen. But she got the idea from and relied on the advice of a Bureau of Motor Vehicles clerk.
“The defendant testified she never thought about voting or intended to vote until a BMV clerk, a government official, told her to register,” Brown said. “The court finds that Ms. Dearaujo has proven, by a preponderance of the evidence, an affirmative defense of entrapment. ” Dearaujo, who immigrated from Brazil in 1993 and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen 30 years later, clasped her hands in prayer-like fashion when the ruling was announced and seemed to cry.
The verdict makes for a major loss for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican who trumpeted the charges against Dearaujo and five others to reporters at a. Yost’s announcement occurred in the early stages of his since-aborted 2026 gubernatorial run and amid a presidential election cycle dominated by eventual winner Donald Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and spurious claims of widespread voter fraud from immigrants.
Neither the state prosecutor on the case nor Yost’s press team would say whether the office plans an appeal. Yost recently, effective June 7, to work for a religious conservative legal advocacy organization. Gov. Mike DeWine has since appointed Andy Wilson, current director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, to the role of attorney general.
“We’re reviewing the ruling,” said Steve Irwin, a Yost spokesperson, when asked for comment on the ruling Tuesday. Dearaujo’s trial painted a far more nuanced picture of alleged voter fraud than the mosaic offered by conservatives. Rather than any efforts to deceive, the evidence revolved around a woman who spoke broken English and said she only voted after a BMV clerk suggested she could, and stopped doing so when the Secretary of State’s office told her it was illegal.
Because Dearaujo waived her right to a trial by jury, she went through a “bench trial” where a judge decides the outcome. Most of the facts of the case are uncontested. During a 2005 BMV interaction, Dearaujo registered to vote. And a form she signed at the time included a circle around the “YES” answer to a question of whether she’s a U.S. citizen.
She testified that she didn’t circle the box, and the state didn’t summon testimony from the BMV clerk who handled the transaction to confirm or deny. Her vehicle registration expired in 2015, prompting another trip to the BMV. That’s where she says she was told she can vote.
Her registration update form includes no answer to the same written question about her citizenship status, and a Franklin County Board of Elections official testified that policy at the time instructed clerks to review old data gathered by the BMV, which led the state to rely on Dearaujo’s 2005 attestation. She voted in the primary and general elections in 2016 and the general election in 2018, in person at the Heritage Free Will Baptist Church on Columbus’ south side.
A subsequent investigation from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office sent in the fall of 2019 informed Dearaujo that she, a noncitizen, voted in the 2018 election illegally.
“I am asking that you complete and return the attached form in order to confirm that you are a U.S. citizen, or cancel your voter registration if you are not a U.S. citizen,” the letter states. While the acquittal is probably better than a finding of guilt, Dearaujo could still face significant legal consequences from the federal government, said Mark Nesbit, a longtime immigration lawyer, in an interview Tuesday.
Trial evidence shows Dearaujo, in her 2023 citizenship application, said she had never registered or voted in a U.S. election. Had she said yes, the application would have been rejected, according to testimony from immigration adjudicator John Matz. Under previous presidential administrations, denaturalizations were saved for the worst of the worst offenders, like large-scale criminals or Nazi prison guards, Nesbit said. But Trump’s administration has been trying to ramp up the process exponentially.
Were she convicted, the administration would likely try to denaturalize Dearaujo, Nesbit said, which could then open the door to deportation or removal. He’s less certain of the outcome given the acquittal, but thinks there’s still plenty of room for the U.S. Department of Justice to argue that she misrepresented a material fact on her citizenship application. Dearaujo immigrated to Ohio from Arapongas, Brazil in 1993.
She overstayed a visa but eventually met a U.S. citizen whom she married in 1997. She voted as a Democrat in 2016 and 2018, and as an independent in 2024. Excerpts of her citizenship application shown at trial show she became a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. on Nov. 30, 1999. Signal Statewide has filed a records request with the court and Yost’s office for a full copy.
In a brief interview, Dearaujo said she currently works in a factory, and works hard there. She said she has one adult son.
“I don’t feel guilty,” she said. The six illegal voting cases Yost brought in 2024 have drawn poor results. , prompting the county prosecutor to call Yost’s allegations “one of the greatest examples of prosecutorial overreach I have ever witnessed. ” In Summit County, Lorinda Miller, who was 78 at the time of her indictment, entered an intervention in lieu of conviction, which allowed her to avoid a finding of guilt or any jail time.
Nicholas Fontaine, a native Canadian who moved to the U.S. as a small child, was charged with the same crime. His lawyer, Robert Walton, said Fontaine entered his plea of no contest after two motions to dismiss the case failed. He did so knowing that he could face removal or deportation from the federal government, no matter the sentence.
Walton declined further comment on the case, but said Fontaine has no criminal history, he registered with the Selective Service when he turned 18, he works full-time, and he has a mother who lives nearby in Northeast Ohio.
Ohio Andy Wilson Dave Yost Donald Trump Maria Dearaujo Ohio 2026 Elections Immigration Voting Domestic News OH State Wire Indictments Jason Inman Nicholas Fontaine Conservatism Steve Irwin Elections United States Government Legal Proceedings U.S. Democratic Party Politics Mike Dewine Courts Mark Nesbit John Matz Robert Walton Trials U.S. News U.S. News
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Houston weather: Daily storm threat to begin on Tuesday, FOX 26 Storm Alert for Tuesday nightTexas is entering several days of stormy weather and the first line of storms is expected late Tuesday and overnight into early Wednesday.
Read more »
Radioactive Waste Fell On Some LA-Area Neighborhoods During 2018 Woolsey Fire, New Study ShowsHigh levels of radioactive particles landed on some homes, in parks, and in backyards where children play–during the massive 2018 Woolsey fire which started at the contaminated Santa Susana Field Lab– according to a peer-reviewed study just published by a team of scientists known for studying environmental disasters.
Read more »
Ohio Republicans blame other Ohio Republicans for Medicaid fraudRepublican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wants to overhaul the state Medicaid system to combat unproven allegations of fraud, as GOP leaders blame Gov. Mike DeWine for a lack of oversight.
Read more »
NE Ohio woman gets new smile after alleged dental work by unlicensed Shaker Heights womanNyla Martin-Hopper said she’s finally pain-free after getting her teeth repaired by a licensed dentist.
Read more »