A suspect arrested on charges of voter fraud in Florida was left confused and in the dark by police officers for why he was being detained, newly released footage showed.
When police detained Tony Patterson in August on charges of committing voter fraud back in 2020, both the officer and Patterson appeared confused by the arrest, a video posted by the Tampa Bay Times showed.
RON DESANTIS ANNOUNCES 20 CHARGED FOR VOTER FRAUD IN FLORIDA
“What is wrong with this state, man?” Patterson said as he was being taken to the police car in handcuffs. “Voter fraud? Y’all said anybody with a felony could vote, man.”
When he asked the police why they were doing this now, as opposed to in 2020, a police officer responded, “I don’t know. I have no idea, man.”
The arrests were part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s crackdown on voter fraud, which he touted at a press conference shortly after the arrest. Those arrested, 20 in all, were convicted of murder or felony sex offenses but voted in the 2020 election despite apparent violations of the process to restore their voting rights.
Voter fraud is considered a third-degree felony, and those convicted of it could face a fine of up to $5,000 and up to five years behind bars. However, in the video, the officer said agents had reduced his bond to $1,000 in total.
Of the 20 people arrested, 12 were registered as Democrats, and 13 were black, the Sarasota Herald-Times found.
Under the voter law, which was amended in 2018, felons can vote with an exception of those convicted of murder or felony sex offenses. However, the submission of false information in an attempt to restore voting rights could have resulted in inadvertent voter fraud.
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On Oct. 14 of this year, prosecutors declined to charge six people with voter fraud due to several Florida officials using voter registration forms or mailing information from before the amended law went into effect.
“In all of the instances where sex offenders voted, each appear to have been encouraged to vote by various mailings and misinformation,” Lake County prosecutor Jonathan Olson wrote. “Each were given voter registration cards which would lead one to believe they could legally vote in the election. The evidence fails to show willful actions on a part of these individuals.”
