Published: October 5, 2026

MONROVIA – Three Liberians in Minnesota are among 10 noncitizens indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury on charges of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote or voting illegally, charges that carry up to five years in prison, and U.S. officials say those convicted also face deportation.
By Lennart Dodoo
U.S. authorities identified the Liberians as Bhator Konah Bryant, 61, Alan Barbu Kargbo, 48, and Chis Adam Pettiquoi, 43, and indicted them separately on Sept. 24, according to a U.S. government release dated Oct. 2.
Kargbo and Pettiquoi are each charged with one count of making a false claim of citizenship in order to vote and one count of voting by an alien. Prosecutors allege that each falsely claimed U.S. citizenship and voted illegally in Minnesota on Nov. 5, 2024, the date of the last U.S. presidential election.
Bryant faces one count of making a false claim of citizenship to vote. She is accused of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when she registered to vote on Oct. 18, 2024. She is not charged with casting a ballot.
The false-citizenship charge carries a maximum of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to US$250,000. Voting by an alien is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to US$100,000.
“Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: we will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences, including criminal charges and deportation,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the release.
The release said the cases resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with help from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota announced the indictments.
An indictment is an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, the release said.
The other seven defendants are from Ghana, Lithuania, Germany, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa. Ghanaian Joshua Frederick Kofi Edzie, 63, the only other West African in the group, faces the most counts: two counts of false claim of citizenship and one of voting by an alien, tied to registrations or votes in October 2024 and August 2026.
Minnesota is home to one of the largest Liberian communities in the United States.




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