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The widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election as alleged by Trump and his supporters was never proven. Election officials in three other states -- North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada -- reported similar incidents. In 16 North Carolina counties alone, officials noted unusually aggressive observers during May's primary elections, according to a state election board survey. When told to stop, they said they were following guidance from a Republican Party lawyer, said Henderson County Election Director Karen Hebb. As head of the Election Integrity Network, Mitchell is training election observers and is trying to build grassroots networks of conservatives ahead of the midterms.

Cummings took the witness stand in the trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four co-defendants - Jessica Watkins, Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson and Kelly Meggs. The five are accused of conspiring to try to keep Republican President Donald Trump in power after he had lost the 2020 election. A pro-Trump mob charged into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and violently attacked police, but failed to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden's victory. Prosecutors have said some of the Oath Keepers were among the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building after he gave a speech repeating his false claims that the election had been stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. The government also alleges the Oath Keepers organized a so-called "quick reaction force" of armed members who were waiting across the Potomac River in Virginia if called upon.

☆ FBI agent who probed Oath Keepers' role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot to testify in trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - An FBI agent will testify on Tuesday in the trial of the founder of the anti-government Oath Keepers group and four others accused of plotting to use force on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election victory. FBI Special Agent Byron Cody will resume testifying about evidence the government gathered for the case, including a series of inflammatory texts, speeches and online posts by Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. A pro-Trump mob charged into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and attacked police, but failed to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden's victory. Prosecutors this week are expected to call two more FBI agents to testify in the trial, as well as Ernest Hancock, an Arizona-based podcaster. Rhodes is expected to take the stand in his own defense later in the trial.

At an election office in Flagstaff, Arizona, voters will encounter bulletproof glass and need to press a buzzer to enter. Election officials around the country said they were coordinating more closely with local law enforcement to respond quickly to disturbances. The Justice Department says it has investigated more than 1,000 messages to election workers since the 2020 election, including more than 100 that could warrant prosecution. PROTECTIVE MEASURESMany election officials blame disinformation, such as Trump's baseless claims about election fraud in the 2020 election, for the surge in threats. In Michigan, Republican candidates for governor, attorney general and other positions have questioned the outcome of the 2020 election.

Oath Keepers militia founder Stewart Rhodes uses a radio as he departs with volunteers from a rally held by U.S. President Donald Trump in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. October 10, 2019. In addition, the defendants who physically entered the Capitol building - Watkins, Meggs and Harrelson - are charged with property destruction. The Oath Keepers is an anti-government militia whose membership includes current and former U.S. military and law enforcement personnel. Dozens of members or associates of the Oath Keepers have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. Another four Oath Keeper defendants accused of seditious conspiracy will go to trial on Nov. 29.

☆ Droughts, Ukraine war push global grain stocks toward worrying decade low
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

But the United States, the world's top corn producer, is now expected to harvest its smallest corn crop in three years. That would be fewer days of corn stocks than the world had in 2012, when the last global food crisis spurred riots. Ukraine is expected to harvest 25 to 27 million tonnes of corn in 2022, down from 42.1 million tonnes in 2021, following Russia's invasion, according to official estimates. read moreSanctions related to the war mean Russia has also struggled to export what is expected to be a record-large wheat crop. read moreAgricultural lender Rabobank said the next U.S. wheat crop is also at risk and will be planted in dust this autumn unless rains fall.

read more Save America is a fundraising body known as a leadership PAC, which only allows politicians to help their allies financially. To be sure, Trump's Save America PAC has spent money on the midterms: close to $9 million on rallies with candidates where Trump has repeatedly hinted he could run for president again; and a similar amount on direct contributions to the more than 200 candidates Trump has endorsed. Reuters GraphicsFEDERAL PROBEThe New York Times reported earlier this month that a federal grand jury in Washington was seeking information on the formation of - and spending by - Save America. During the first half of the year, Save America vacuumed in close to a fifth of the funds raised through WinRed, the main Republican online fundraising platform. Save America regularly sends supporters emails proclaiming them "Patriot of the Month" - or chiding them for not yet contributing.

The Oath Keepers is an anti-government militia whose membership includes current and former U.S. military and law enforcement personnel. As lawmakers met on Jan. 6 to certify Biden's election victory, some Oath Keepers stormed into the Capitol building, clad in paramilitary gear. The Justice Department's last attempt to prosecute a seditious conspiracy case was in 2010, when it charged members of a Michigan militia called the Hutaree. Prosecutors are expected to use video clips from the Jan. 6 attack, text messages and audio recordings of some of the Oath Keepers defendants. Four other Oath Keepers members charged with seditious conspiracy are due to go on trial on Nov. 29.

☆ Explainer: What is driving tensions ahead of Brazil's presidential election?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro gestures during a military parade to celebrate the bicentennial independence of Brazil, in Brasilia, Brazil September 7, 2022. ELECTRONIC VOTINGBrazil adopted electronic voting machines in 1996 to end widespread fraud involving paper ballots. THIN PAPER TRAILStill, some election experts say the lack of a paper record for each vote does limit opportunities to conduct audits if the election is contested. Voters punch their choices into electronic voting machines at 477,000 voting stations across Brazil. Last year, Congress voted down Bolsonaro's proposal to reintroduce a paper record for each vote cast.

Demonstrators take part in a protest for democracy and free elections and against Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, at Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 11, 2022. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"One thing is certain about this election: President Bolsonaro will only accept one result – victory. When pressed in interviews, Bolsonaro says he will respect the election result as long as voting is "clean and transparent," without defining any criteria. Demonstrators cited the big crowds as evidence that opinion polls are skewed and electoral fraud is Lula's only hope. The Brazilian president has warned that the aftermath of Brazil's election this year could be worse than the fallout from that contested U.S. vote.

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