First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said that the arrest of the Honduran national in California for allegedly unlawfully registering to vote shows the state’s vulnerability.
Essayli told Bill Melugin on Fox News:
This case really highlights the vulnerability in California’s voter rolls. They basically allow anybody to register to vote on the honor system. There’s nobody in government that is checking to confirm you’re a citizen, and in fact, in this case, he on the form put down a California driver’s license and a social, which he had because he has a visa that does not prove you’re a citizen. And according to the Secretary of State, they say at least half a million people don’t even provide that information when they register to vote.
OUTRAGEOUS: Central California First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli on a Honduran non-citizen registering to vote in the Golden State: “This case really highlights the vulnerabilities in California’s voter rolls. They basically allow anyone to register to vote on the HONOR… pic.twitter.com/o6pnTqSTvs
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) August 31, 2026
Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flores faces two felony charges: false claim to U.S. citizenship and fraudulent voter registration.
Rivera Flores is a lawful permanent resident in California’s San Fernando Valley. But he is not a citizen and therefore cannot vote.
Rivera Flores has not voted in an election. The voter registration was dated November 4, 2025.
Authorities believe Rivera Flores intended to vote in November.
Rivera Flores appeared on the FBI’s radar due to harassing an agent after he disrupted ICE operations in February.
“Your not the good guy I can’t wait until the mid terms you dont have qualified immunity then we can start and indict all you guys one bye one,” Rivera Flores texted to the federal agent.
Essayli blasted Democrats for “emboldening” non-citizens:
I think Democrats are really emboldening these lawbreakers. They feel like there’s no consequences. So he had no fear whatsoever harassing an ICE agent, letting him know how he’s planning to vote in the midterms and wants to take their immunity away. And so that obviously got the agent interested to see whether he was registered to vote or not. So that’s how he came on their radar. But yeah, there’s a culture here, Bill, where people aren’t afraid of law. And Darwin found out very quickly that there are consequences. He’s looking at multiple felonies, and now he’s looking at deportation if convicted.
The Honduran national busted for illegally registering to vote in California was an anti-ICE agitator and started texting an ICE agent, talking trash and bragging about the midterms—so the agent looked into Darwin Jonathan Rivera Flore and found he had committed two felonies.… pic.twitter.com/abcFqO56EX
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) August 31, 2026
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