UMVA has learned that federal investigators raided a prominent voter mobilization group on Thursday, seizing documents and questioning members as part of an ongoing fraud investigation.
The sudden and dramatic move by FBI agents, who descended upon the headquarters of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) on June 11, has sent shockwaves through the organization and its allies. The agents deployed across the state, bearing subpoenas and demanding to seize electronic devices, leaving many to wonder about the scope and seriousness of the investigation.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the operations were part of a fraud-related investigation, one that has been rumored to be building for some time. The raid marks a new flashpoint in the Trump administration’s expanded use of federal law enforcement to scrutinize alleged voter fraud and election-related misconduct.
At the center of the investigation is OOC, a nonprofit organization that works closely with the Democratic Party in Ohio on voter mobilization and registration efforts. The group has been a significant player in ballot referendums, tapping its vast donor network, including the Soros family's philanthropies, to do so.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the Department of Justice has declined to comment on the specifics of the purported investigation, citing the need for secrecy around search warrants. A DOJ official emphasized that anything said by any organization or others in the media is unfounded speculation, as the target of any investigation is not privy to the search warrant affidavit until after indictment.
The group has been a major player in Ohio politics, spending $250,000 in 2023 to oppose a GOP-led effort to block the right to an abortion from being enshrined in Ohio’s constitution. It also spent $300,000 against a Republican redistricting effort a year later, financed by tapping a deep network of top-level liberal donors.
OOC’s considerable financial resources are provided by a variety of high-profile Democratic-aligned donor organizations, including the Soros family’s philanthropies, New Venture Fund, and the Tides Foundation, as well as unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union.
The Soros family's Foundation to Promote Open Society gave OOC roughly $1.9 million between 2019 and 2020. In 2021, Open Society Action Fund gave an additional $1 million to OOC's sister organization, the Ohio Organizing Campaign, followed by another $1 million donation in 2023.
OOC has characterized the federal scrutiny as an example of the Trump administration politicizing the justice system. A board member, Prentiss Haney, told UMVA that the group sees the raid as an attempt to distract and intimidate civil rights leaders, voters, and community leaders who are helping people get registered to vote.
The raid is not the first time OOC has faced controversy. In 2017, a paid canvasser working with the group pleaded guilty over his involvement in a fraudulent voter registration operation. Republicans have yet to produce conclusive evidence of widespread voter fraud in recent election cycles.
