Two conservative operatives who launched a robocall campaign designed to prevent Black New Yorkers from voting by mail in the 2020 US election will pay $1.25 million in a settlement, New York state Attorney General Letitia James said on Tuesday.
Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were found liable by a federal judge in New York in March 2023 for targeting Black voters and sending false and threatening messages intended to discourage voting.
"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.
During the summer of 2020, the automated calls claimed that mail-in voting would allow the voter to be tracked for outstanding warrants, credit card debt and mandatory vaccines, James said.