Image Credit: @HSI_Nashville / X.
Article by Olivia Lupia, Tennessee Conservative News –
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced at the end of last week that five illegal aliens in East and Middle Tennessee have been arrested and charged for unlawfully voting in the 2024 federal elections.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee has filed criminal complaints charging two aliens with federal voter fraud after an investigation by HSI and the FBI determined the two individuals, who are both aliens residing in Cleveland, TN, voted illegally in the U.S. presidential election on November 5, 2024.
The aliens arrested are:
- Mark Adwar Odisho, 30, an Iraqi national.
- Frederic Jean Rene Sicard, 50, a French national.
Odisho made his initial appearance in federal court on Oct. 29 while Sicard appeared in federal court on Oct. 30.
“These complaints reflect how seriously the United States views protecting the unique benefits of American citizenship,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “The right to vote is a fundamental privilege of American citizenship, and the theft of that privilege by a non-citizen will be prosecuted.”
On Oct. 30, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee also announced charges against three additional aliens for allegedly voting in the 2024 election and falsely and willfully representing themselves as a U.S. citizen in a Tennessee voter registration application in 2024 “in order to register to vote or to vote in a federal, state, or local election.”
Those arrested by HSI and the FBI are:
- Garfield St. Vincent Bruce, 48, a citizen of Jamaica.
- Mariela Elizabeth Avila Ortiz, 33, citizen of Honduras.
- Allison Melissa Wilkes, 49, citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.
“American citizenship is a precious inheritance and the right to vote is one of the most important and solemn trusts of citizenship,” said U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Braden H. Boucek. “Tennesseans need to know that those who vote illegally will be prosecuted to protect the integrity of our federal elections.”
HSI Nashville Special Agent in Charge Dennis Fetting added, “With our partners, we will continue to investigate alleged violations of federal elections laws and support efforts to uphold the foundations of our democracy.”
On social media, HSI reiterated the agency is “protecting the ballot” and is “committed to protecting the election integrity and holding alleged violators accountable.”
TN Troll, an X account that diligently tracks illegal alien activity in the state and calls for judicial accountability, commented about the arrests, “If illegals aren’t voting in elections, then why did 2 illegals get caught voting in Cleveland, Tennessee. HSI- Investigate Nashville!!!”
And conservative grassroots organization Tennessee Stands pointed out, “All three could have had their citizenship status checked BEFORE registering. Tennessee counties are being blocked from accessing the SAVE database. We’re supposed to be #1 in election integrity, so how does this happen?”
Tennessee election law authorizes the state coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration to the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database, but that cross-referencing only occurs with the list of those already registered to vote, not before the applications are approved.
SAVE checks are also not required at the county level, and some election integrity organizations are stating that TN coordinator Mark Goins is prohibiting counties from accessing SAVE directly.
Additionally, a gap in the law does not require every new voter applicant to provide proof of citizenship before registration, instead requiring documentation only after evidence indicates a registered voter may not be a citizen.
Some conservative lawmakers attempted to close these gaps and strengthen Tennessee’s election laws this past legislative session through a bill which would have mandated county election commissions check applicants registering to vote against SAVE prior to adding them to voter rolls instead of just relying on post-registration state-level checks.
The bill failed 6-1 in the Republican-controlled House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee and was therefore never taken up by the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
A much weaker alternative bill by Rep. William Lamberth was passed by the legislature allowing, but not requiring, elections administrators to accesses the SAVE program only if the Department of Homeland Security ever makes the data available via a secure web service.
Sources:
X.com posts here, here, here & here.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Being #1 does not mean there is no election fraud taking place in TN. It just means TN is not as bad as the rest but fraud does take place in TN and that has been proven. Seth Keshal found Rutherford to have probable fraud during the 2020 election and Rutherford made the top 100 list of counties with election fraud. All election fraud must be stopped. Even 1 illegal vote is too many. Obtaining REAL ID does not mean the person is a citizen. Driver licenses for non-citizens should be different than driver licenses given to US citizens. That would easily stop non-citizens from voting in TN. But of course this would require PROOF of citizenship and that just seems to be too much to ask of our elected that truly want election fraud to take place because some of them would never have been elected if it weren’t for fraud.