Conservative activists reach $1 million settlement deal with New York AG for running 2020 voter suppression campaign

Conservative activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman have agreed to pay $1 million to the New York attorney general’s office and others for running a voter suppression campaign targeting Black voters during the 2020 election.

Conservative activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman have agreed to pay $1 million to the New York attorney general’s office and others for running a voter suppression campaign targeting Black voters during the 2020 election. The deal announced Tuesday by state Attorney General Letitia James represents the latest punishment the pair will face for orchestrating a broad voter suppression campaign four years ago that used robocalls to spread election-related misinformation to Black voters and others in an effort to discourage voting. A federal judge found the two men liable last year for targeting Black voters in New York, saying in a lengthy ruling that they “set into motion a full-scale voter suppression operation during the summer of 2020 to discourage eligible voters from voting by targeting mail-in voting in the 2020 Election.” Under the deal reached by Wohl and Burkman with James’ office, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and several individual plaintiffs, the two men have agreed to pay a $1 million judgment to those parties, according to the attorney general. If the pair “fail to pay at least $105,000 by December 31, 2024, and do not address the failure to pay within 30 days, the amount will increase to $1.25 million,” James’ office said. “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,” James said in a statement. “My office will always defend the right to vote.” A judge must still approve the agreement. CNN has reached out to attorneys for Wohl and Burkman for comment.