SouthernWorldwide.com – Federal investigators conducted a raid on the headquarters of a voter mobilization group funded by George Soros on Thursday, as part of an alleged ongoing fraud investigation.
FBI agents executed the raid at the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) on June 11. The operation extended across the state, with agents questioning members of the organization. In some instances, they presented subpoenas or demanded the seizure of electronic devices, as reported by MS Now. The following day, multiple sources familiar with the situation informed CBS News that these actions were linked to a fraud-related investigation.
This raid represents the latest development in the Trump administration’s intensified use of federal law enforcement. The administration has been scrutinizing alleged instances of voter fraud and election-related misconduct. This approach has been welcomed by conservatives, who have long contended that such cases are not adequately investigated. Conversely, Democrats and voting rights groups have criticized the effort, expressing concerns that it could lead to the FBI being used as a political tool against liberal voter registration initiatives.
The OOC is a nonprofit organization that collaborates closely with the Democratic Party in Ohio. Its work focuses on voter mobilization and registration efforts. The group is particularly active in advocating for ballot referendums, leveraging its extensive donor network, which includes philanthropic entities associated with the Soros family.
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The Department of Justice has officially declined to provide specific comments regarding the purported investigation.
In 2023, the OOC allocated $250,000 to oppose a Republican-led initiative aimed at preventing the enshrining of abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution. A year later, the organization spent an additional $300,000 to counter a Republican redistricting effort.
The OOC finances these expenditures by drawing upon a robust network of prominent liberal donors. Recent tax filings indicate that the organization generated over $10 million in revenue during 2024. The substantial financial resources of the OOC are derived from a variety of well-known donor organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. These include the Soros family’s philanthropies, the New Venture Fund, and the Tides Foundation, as well as labor unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union.
Between 2019 and 2020, the Soros family’s Foundation to Promote Open Society provided approximately $1.9 million to the OOC. In 2021, the Open Society Action Fund contributed an additional $1 million to the Ohio Organizing Campaign, an affiliated organization of the OOC. This was followed by another $1 million donation in 2023.
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The OOC has characterized the federal scrutiny as an attempt by the Trump administration to politicize the justice system.
“How can they distract and intimidate civil rights leaders and voters and community leaders who are helping people get registered to vote, and create a national spectacle about it?” Prentiss Haney, a board member of the OOC authorized to speak on behalf of the group, stated to MS Now. “That is the only reason why they would choose to do that, do it now, in the middle of a contested political election in the state. There’s no other reason. They have no evidence of that.”
The OOC faced criticism in 2017 when a paid canvasser working with the group pleaded guilty for his involvement in a fraudulent voter registration operation. However, Republicans have yet to present conclusive evidence of widespread voter fraud in recent election cycles.
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