Five people, including two St. Johns County commissioners and a St. Augustine Beach commissioner, were charged Monday in connection with an alleged scheme to distribute counterfeit Republican voter guides during the 2024 primary election.
County Commissioners Sarah Arnold and Christian Whitehurst, St. Augustine Beach Commissioner and former Mayor Dylan Rumrell, political consultant Briana Jordan, and Jamie Lynn Johnson were each charged with one count of creating an unauthorized voter guide and one count of conspiracy. Jordan was also charged with felony tampering with physical evidence after prosecutors alleged she destroyed or concealed voter guides while an investigation was pending.
The charges come months after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a confidential executive order assigning the case to an outside prosecutor. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the case, and 8th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brian Kramer ultimately filed the charges after prosecutors in both the 7th and 4th Judicial Circuits recused themselves.
According to a sworn FDLE affidavit, investigators allege Jordan organized the scheme after the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee endorsed a slate of candidates who were not represented by her consulting operation. Prosecutors say she created a counterfeit voter guide using the county GOP’s name and branding without authorization while omitting the disclaimer required under Florida law. Jordan’s bond was set at $12,000, and it is unclear when the defendants will make their first court appearances.
Investigators allege the counterfeit guides were assembled at a St. Augustine campaign headquarters before being mailed to thousands of Republican voters from post offices in Jacksonville and Orlando to conceal their origin. The affidavit alleges Jordan purchased more than 10,000 voter guides and approximately 20,000 postage stamps, while Whitehurst, Arnold and Rumrell helped prepare the mailers by placing labels and stamps on the envelopes.
Prosecutors also allege Jordan later burned remaining voter guides and searched for commercial shredding services after the operation became public. The fake voter guides became one of the biggest controversies of the 2024 Republican primary in St. Johns County. While the official St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee endorsed one slate of candidates, the counterfeit guide promoted a competing slate that included Whitehurst and several other local Republicans.
The competing endorsements reflected a broader intraparty fight over growth and development in one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties. The candidates featured on the counterfeit guide largely mirrored those backed by the Trump Club of St. Johns County, while President Donald Trump later endorsed the three incumbent county commissioners on Truth Social during the closing days of the campaign.
Ann-Marie Evans, who narrowly lost the Republican primary to Whitehurst, previously said she was “appalled” and “shocked” by the counterfeit mailers and blamed them for confusing voters during the race. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power also welcomed the charges, saying the party takes the unauthorized use of its branding seriously.
The three elected officials are represented by Jacksonville law firm Bedell. In a statement released through Bachman Galnor Communications, they said:
These allegations have lingered for nearly two years in the hands of various government agencies. With formal charges now filed, County Commissioner Arnold, County Commissioner Whitehurst and St. Augustine Beach City Commissioner Rumrell look forward to the conclusion of this matter and will have no further comments at this time.
St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Denver Cook said the charges vindicate what the party has maintained since the fake mailers surfaced during the 2024 primary.
“The details outlined in the state’s sworn affidavit reveal a shocking, calculated criminal conspiracy designed to subvert the democratic process and hijack the official, trusted voice of the St. Johns County Republican Party,” Cook said.
He added that the affidavit describes “a mass-scale deception” involving tens of thousands of fraudulent mailers and an effort to destroy evidence after the scheme was exposed.
Politicians facing criminal charges can be suspended from office at the governor’s discretion while their cases are pending. None of the three elected officials is scheduled to face voters again before 2028.
As Breitbart News previously reported, the controversy grew out of a bitter Republican primary after grassroots conservatives took control of the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee and endorsed a slate of candidates challenging the local GOP establishment. The endorsements sparked an intraparty battle over the party’s direction and several high-profile local races.
Breitbart News later reported that Florida law enforcement had opened an election fraud investigation after counterfeit voter guides were mailed to Republican voters using the St. Johns County GOP’s branding to promote a rival slate of candidates. Party officials said the mailers closely resembled the official voter guide but falsely claimed to represent the county GOP’s endorsements.
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