There's an update on the James O'Keefe story I covered on today's Toddcast.

On Wednesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged O'Keefe and Cam Higby with felony unlawful voting and identity theft over their undercover videos from Minneapolis polling places during the August 11 primary. The felony charges carry up to five years in prison.

According to prosecutors, the two used the names of registered voters in the precinct to start Minnesota's "vouching" process. They stopped short of signing the vouching oath, and neither complaint says either man cast a ballot.

In other words, they’ve been charged with unlawful voting despite never having voted nor intending to vote.

Now the Justice Department says it's aware of the charges and is reviewing the police report, the video and the other material. A DOJ spokesperson told the Daily Caller the department is concerned about intimidation related to First Amendment activity.

Bottom line: the DOJ is aware of this blatant lawfare being waged against the innocent parties in this story, and they're looking into it.

Good. This is exactly what needs to happen.

Friends, if someone is guilty of breaking the law, they need to face the music, be they Republican or Democrat, Libertarian or Independent.

But what are they even alleging O'Keefe and Higby did wrong here?

They had no intention to vote, and prosecutors have acknowledged that.

They were not trying to steal anyone's identity.

They were trying to expose a vulnerable and corrupt election system in Minnesota.

They didn't sign anything swearing under oath that they were eligible to vote or anything like that.

In fact, they posted the undercover videos so that people could see how easy it was to manipulate Minnesota's idiotic registration system.

This is what political lawfare looks like.

Republicans had better be ready to fight fire with fire and hold the true culprits accountable.

And unless new evidence is presented showing O'Keefe and Higby actually broke the law, we should absolutely see this as an attempt by Democrats to target their political enemies, and to keep the entire scheme in Minnesota from coming crashing to the ground.

Here is a story that hit close to home for me that I wanted to share with you.

Pizza King Plainfield, Indiana, took to social media earlier this week to share their enthusiasm after Democrat Beau Bayh stopped by for lunch on Tuesday. He's running for Indiana Secretary of State.

Here is their post: "What a nice surprise! Beau Bayh and team just stopped in for the tail end of the lunch buffet. Such a nice guy, and loves him some Pizza King Plainfield!"

As WTHR points out, their posts usually get one or two comments.

But as I write this, the post has 233 comments!

As you might expect, many of the comments are political in nature.

Some Republicans voiced their displeasure, with some even vowing to never eat there again.

Some Democrats cheered on Pizza King, assuming the owners and staff must be voting for Bayh.

And other Republicans simply said, "No problem. I'm voting Republican but I'll still eat there."

The restaurant has since posted that the visit wasn't an endorsement, that everyone is welcome, and that it's invited the other candidates in the race to stop in, too.

If you listen to our program or read The Inner Circle, you know that we have an online directory of businesses who love America and oppose leftist candidates and leftist causes.

After all, it's absolutely crazy when we do business with companies that fund the candidates and causes we actively fight against every single day.

But I think we need perspective here: I do not agree with a boycott of everyone who welcomes a Democrat into their restaurant or business.

And we shouldn't necessarily assume that means anything.

In fact, I interviewed Beau Bayh on this program about a year or so ago.

And to be clear: I 100% think you should vote for Bay’s opponent, Max Engling, imperfect though he may be. (By the way, they all are imperfect, just like the rest of us.)

There is a big difference between being a business owner who serves everyone and a business owner who uses his business to fund the Radical Left's agenda.

And while I don't know this particular Pizza King owner, I have a hard time believing he's a Radical Leftist.

It's possible he votes Democrat — just like it's possible he votes Republican. Or Libertarian. Or maybe not even at all. But we have no evidence to suggest he's funding the woke agenda.

Sure, a vote for a Democrat is a big problem in the midterms.

But we certainly don't need to burn everything down to the ground over one person's private vote.

We need to save our energy for the real threats and problems in society today.

And who knows? If this guy actually is a Democrat and he's treated reasonably by Republicans in this situation, perhaps he'll reconsider his politics.

Or maybe I’m dreaming.

Minnesota prosecutors charged James O'Keefe and Cam Higby with two felonies each over an undercover operation at Minneapolis polling places during the August primary. We discuss on the Toddcast.

I also get into why the people who expose a broken system keep ending up as the defendants, what Minnesota's vouching rule actually allows, and one saying that explains most of this: the mind will justify what the heart desires.

Here's a clip from today's Toddcast:

Hennepin County Attorney's Office — the charging announcement I read on air, in full, including the case numbers.

MPR News — what each man is charged with, Mary Moriarty's own explanation of why intent to vote isn't the question, and the November 16 court date.

Votebeat — the August operation itself, and how Minnesota's vouching law has worked since 1973 from the perspective of a, ahem, nonpartisan. Sure.

Minnesota Secretary of State — the state's own page on registering at the polls: a registered voter can vouch for up to eight people.

Fox News — the vouching limit, the fraud cases behind the calls for federal action, and Minnesota's same-day registration.

R Street Institute — I mentioned the SAVE Act twice today. Here's what it would actually require, and the practical objections even its supporters raise.

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