Eight arrested in Phillips County election fraud investigation

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has announced the arrest of eight individuals accused of attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 primary election runoff for the District 9 Justice of the Peace seat.According to the attorney general’s office, the charges stem from alleged illegal activity tied to the Phillips County runoff election.

Among those arrested is Lita Moore Johnson, 62, a teacher with the Marvell School District who won the runoff election for the Justice of the Peace position. Court documents allege Johnson instructed multiple voters to change the address on their voter registration forms so they could vote in the District 9 race.

Johnson faces two counts of solicitation to commit perjury, a Class D felony.

Seven additional individuals have been charged with perjury, a Class C felony, for allegedly providing false address information on Arkansas voter registration applications. Those individuals are:

-Mearion Armstrong, 68, retired
-Cordelia Foster, 60, an elementary teacher at KIPP Public School in Helena
-Shirley Hicks, 56, a custodian with the Barton School District
-Jasean Smith, 30, a teacher at Central High School in Helena and pastor of Galilee Church
-Adam Swopes, 26, a lieutenant with the Arkansas Department of Corrections
-Rachel Gamble Sykes, 56, an Arkansas Crime Information Center coordinator for the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office
-Jocelyn Washington, 39, an employee of the Phillips County Development Center

The case remains under investigation.

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