Northeast

Legal threat cracks open voter records for illegal school superintendent nabbed by ICE

Published

7 months ago

December 8, 2025

Legal threat cracks open voter records for illegal school superintendent nabbed by ICE

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A Maryland board of elections backed down in the face of legal threat from conservative groups and released unredacted voter registration records belonging to an illegal immigrant who served as the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school system, Fox News Digital has learned.

The records showed illegal immigrant Ian Andre Roberts, who is originally from Guyana, claimed to be a U.S. citizen.

“The records show us what we all know – Maryland is not serious about keeping noncitizens off the voter rolls,” American Accountability Foundation (AAF) chief Tom Jones, a conservative research group that advocated for the release of the voter registration records, said in a press release provided to Fox News Digital. “Sadly, there are likely thousands more non-citizens on Maryland’s voter rolls.”

The Prince George’s Board of Elections provided conservative legal group Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) and AAF with unredacted versions of Ian Andre Roberts’ registration documents after initially releasing heavily redacted versions of the documents that blacked out Roberts’ sex, whether he checked the citizenship box, his date of birth and other information.

HEAVILY REDACTED VOTING RECORDS FOR SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT NABBED BY ICE SPARK OUTRAGE

Republicans say that illegal immigrant Ian Andre Roberts being registered to vote in Maryland raises serious concerns about the state’s voting processes. (Keith Srakocic/AP Photo and ICE)

The fresh documents, RITE said in a press release provided to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, show “Roberts affirmatively claimed U.S. citizenship on his voter-registration application, and that Maryland election officials took his word for it.” A copy of the unredacted documents reviewed by Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning show Roberts checked the “yes” box when asked “Are you a U.S. citizen?”

Roberts, who first entered the U.S. in 1994, was working as the superintendent of the Des Moines public school district when Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him in September. Roberts was not legally permitted to work in the country after an employment authorization card expired in 2020, Fox News Digital previously reported.

The arrest of an illegal immigrant working in such a high-profile school position shocked conservatives and others, as additional details surrounding his lengthy rap sheet in the U.S. surfaced as journalists and other investigators looked into his history. Amid scrutiny over his past, it was soon discovered that Roberts was listed as a registered Democratic voter in Maryland, where he previously lived.

The Maryland State Board of Elections previously said Roberts did not vote in elections.

The revelation that Roberts checked in the affirmative that he was a U.S. citizen on voter registration documents further opens the door to scrutiny over illegal immigrants potentially voting in elections. RITE pointed to the Maryland Board of Elections previously stating that noncitizens are canceled from registration records after the “State Board of Elections (SBE) or a local board receive information regarding citizenship status by the voter, ‘self-report’ or a report to the jury commissioners” as a cause of concern for Maryland’s current voter removal process.

Former Des Moines superintendent Ian Andre Roberts, who was detained by ICE, was federally charged. (Polk County Sheriff)

“This case demonstrates exactly why Congress enacted the NVRA’s public disclosure mandate,” RITE CEO and President Justin Riemer said of the release of the records in December. “When election officials attempt to hide eligibility records, the public loses the ability to verify that the law is being followed. Once the records were produced, we saw just how weak Maryland’s safeguards really are. This is unfortunately all too common around the country and federal laws do little to help stop noncitizens from registering to vote.”

SCHOOL CHIEF TO SUSPECT: ICE ARREST OF DES MOINES SUPERINTENDENT EXPOSES FAKE DEGREES, DRUG CONVICTIONS

RITE and AAF filed a request for Roberts’ voter registration documents earlier this year under the National Voter Registration Act – a federal law that simplified voter registration processes when an eligible individual renews their driver’s license – and subsequently received heavily redacted records that did not include how he answered the citizenship question or even his designated sex.

Riemer led the charge in sending a letter to the Prince George’s County Board of Elections in November demanding the county turn over the records with fewer redactions as allowed by law. The election attorney, who previously served as chief counsel to the Republican National Committee, gave the county board until Dec. 1 while noting legal action could be in the future if the election board failed to comply.

Riemer joined Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview in November to discuss the voter registration records, redactions and Robert’s immigration case, summing it up as “shocking.”

“When I saw the news reporting, and they showed screenshots of the registration applications with all this information redacted, I was just shocked,” Riemer said last month.

“I’m an election law expert, not an immigration expert, but it doesn’t take one to see just how … broken the system has been,” Riemer said. “He has multiple criminal charges. He has worked in multiple school districts where, if they were doing the proper citizenship and work authorization checks, this should have been caught. It’s really just unbelievable how this guy has managed to jump around the country, working in school districts where he’s around children.”

FORMER DES MOINES SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT TAKEN INTO DOJ CUSTODY ON FEDERAL FIREARMS, IMMIGRATION CHARGES

RITE took a victory lap in its press release announcing the unredacted documents, stating, “Rather than defend their position in court, county officials backed down and produced the unredacted records.”

It is unclear why the ICE agents conducted the early morning traffic stop. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Roberts was taken into the U.S. Marshals’ custody following his September arrest and is set to be prosecuted, DHS said in October. The federal agency has released the suspect’s lengthy history of run-ins with the law that stretch back to 1996, when he was charged with criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell in New York.

Most recently, facing charges related to his arrest in September, which included him attempting to flee law enforcement officers, according to DHS. He was found to be in possession of $3,000 in cash, a Glock 9 mm pistol and a hunting knife at the time of his arrest. Roberts was criminally charged on Oct. 2 with being an illegal immigrant in possession of firearms, according to DHS.

Roberts is no longer employed by the Iowa school system, with the Board of Educational Examiners revoking Roberts’ license following his arrest in September.

Fox News Digital reached out to the county and state boards of elections on Tuesday morning for additional comment on Roberts’ records, the state’s vetting process for noncitizens on voter roles and response to RITE’s press release, but did not immediately receive replies.

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Maine

Platner’s voters are reeling as Maine Democratic Party races to choose his replacement

Published

1 hour ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

Platner’s voters are reeling as Maine Democratic Party races to choose his replacement

Maine Senate hopeful, Democrat David Costello, speaks with a potential voter as he gathers signatures, required to be considered at the party’s convention, in downtown Brunswick, Maine on July 12.

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BRUNSWICK, Maine – On a sunny Sunday, Senate hopeful David Costello worked the sidewalk in downtown Brunswick asking for signatures.

“Woud you happen to be a registered Democrat?” he asked one woman before engaging in a back and forth conversation. She asks if he’s progressive.

“Very progressive,” Costello said.

Costello is one of several Maine Democrats who see the fall of Graham Platner’s senate campaign as an opportunity to represent Maine in Washington.

Platner won June’s Democratic primary election handily. But allegations of rape by a former romantic partner last week forced him to drop out of the race. It leaves Maine Democrats scrambling to find a new nominee before the July 27 deadline to put a name on the ballot. Platner denies the allegations.

The Maine Democratic Party will hold a convention on July 25 where 601 delegates will choose that nominee. That candidate will need to capitalize on the enthusiasm Platner generated to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

An unstoppable incumbent or a top pick-up opportunity?

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leans down to listen to a young paradegoer at the annual Moxie Day Parade is Lisbon, Maine on July 11.

Susan Sharon/Maine Public

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Collins remained quiet at the end of Platner’s campaign but at the annual Moxie Day parade Saturday in Lisbon, Maine, she walked with volunteers in red shirts.

“People appreciate the fact that I provide steady leadership — and the word steady does come up a lot,” Collins said at the parade, “and that I continue to work really hard for Maine.”

Collins has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997. She has managed to stay in her seat even as Maine has voted for Democrats for president statewide, including in 2020 when the state voted for Joe Biden. Collins last won reelection that year with a comfortable margin — more than 8.5%.

At the annual Moxie Day Parade in Lisbon, Maine, supporters of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, march with signs and giant letters spelling S-U-S-A-N, on July 11.

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Democrats see Maine as pivotal to their chances to retake the Senate. Platner’s departure from the race puts pressure on the party to choose a replacement candidate who can win over Platner’s loyal voters and appeal to independents who are key to Collins’ electoral success. Maine state Senate President Mattie Daughtry, a Democrat, is encouraged to see many of the candidates running on Platner’s progressive platform of transformational change. But she’s worried about voters being turned off by the process.

“I do have that deep seated concern of how many folks are going to say ‘oh well, this man failed me. Why trust someone ever again?’” Daughtry said.

Daughtry did not endorse Platner and she quickly called on him to drop out of the race after the rape allegations surfaced. Still, she thinks his message resonated.

“I ran for office when I was 25 because I was really really angry. I was working 4 jobs. I couldn’t afford an apartment and I had no healthcare. And unfortunately that story has not changed and it is a lived reality for millions of us across this country,” Daughtry said.

“And we need to find who can pick up that mantle. Who understands what that life is like and really tap into that raw energy,” she added.

Supporters weigh what’s next

Just one month ago, Alan Crichton was playing saxophone at Graham Platner’s primary night victory party. At a brewery in Belfast, Maine this weekend, he noted his ambivalence.

“I have so many mixed feelings. I like the guy. I like his message a great deal and I think he galvanized people who are just kind of sick of what’s happening,” Crichton said.

Now, though, Crichton calls the situation “a big old mess.” As a Democrat, he hoped the charismatic populist Platner would be the one to finally knock out Collins. Though, at this point, he’ll vote for whoever the Maine Democratic party selects.

“I hope it’s somebody who can kind of carry the torch that Graham kind of lit and held out there very strongly. He was a very inspiring guy,” he said.

Joseph Berube of Northport, Maine, gave up on politics in 1972 after Democrat George McGovern lost the race for president in a landslide. This year, though, he got excited about Graham Platner’s candidacy for U.S. Senate.

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Joseph Berube is an independent voter who lives in Northport, Maine. After decades disengaged from politics, Graham Platner sparked something in him he could hardly believe.

“Because I am so apolitical,” Berube said, “I want nothing to do with it. [But] I was actually considering giving money to his campaign.”

Charlotte Agell is on the opposite end of the engagement spectrum. A registered Democrat, she is very politically involved and has been for decades. She met Platner early on in his campaign.

“One of our neighbors said, ‘hey would you like to come to my backyard and meet Graham Platner?’ I had sort of heard of him,” she remembered. “When I went to that back yard event, I just by happenstance walked in with him. It was me and Graham Platner walking in.”

By the time that event ended, she had signed up to volunteer for his campaign.

“I felt a kinship with everything that was coming out of his mouth basically. Very smart. Good at identifying the problem,” Agell said.

Core to Platner’s economic populist message was that the system has been failing regular people while the rich and powerful get more rich and more powerful. He had faced controversies throughout his campaign. He easily won the nomination anyway. But then came the rape allegation. Berube believes the rush to judgment was too swift.

“I agree with women’s rights and women shouldn’t be abused,” he said. “But to have one person come up and stand up and say, ‘he abused me,’ and then that’s it? It’s just not really fair to him.””I just think they didn’t want him,” Berube added.

Berube says Democrats chopped the legs out from under someone who had brought people back into politics.

“He was bringing in people like me and that’s what’s going to do this. And you know what, we’re in the middle of a war to save this country,” Berube said. “And we have the other side that’s fighting with the gloves off and we’re putting the gloves on. We’re in trouble.”

Charlotte Agell has been processing it all a little differently. Agell admits to being a chronic optimist but says this was never about one man.

“You know, we’re not a cult. We’re just a movement that wants to take back this country for the middle and the working class,” she said.

Agell wants to believe this massive disruption won’t sap the momentum for change she felt.

“It’s really been like a rocket ship. We’ve all been on it. And that’s why, when these very serious things have been alleged and rightly he has dropped out of the race, we’re kinda still flying at 90 million miles an hour and saying ‘who can take the controls’ and we’re going to figure that out,” Agell said.

State Senator Chip Curry says the state party is doing the best it can with a tight timeline.

“It’s a winnable race and we’ve got some great people. We’ve got to get there,” Curry said.

There are more than half a dozen announced candidates. And for Democrats the stakes couldn’t be higher. No clear frontrunner has emerged from the candidates who have put themselves forward to be considered. It’s also not clear if one candidate can capitalize on the momentum that Platner was building in Maine. Still, some are remaining optimistic.

“People are going to grumble. I’ve grumbled a little bit. But I think we’ll get through this,” Senate hopeful David Costello predicted. “I think whoever the nominee is will have tremendous support.”

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Massachusetts

This Massachusetts beach has the ‘best etiquette’ in the state.

Published

1 hour ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

This Massachusetts beach has the ‘best etiquette’ in the state.

Looking for a beach where fellow beachgoers have good manners?

Travel website Exoticca conducted a survey and found the beach with the best beach etiquette in each state, including Massachusetts, so you can know the place where Bay Staters treat both the beach and each other with the most respect.

“We surveyed 3,011 Americans to find out where beachgoers are seen as having the best etiquette, and the results say quite a lot about what people actually want from a beach vacation,” Exoticca said.

In Massachusetts, voters said to head to the North Shore.

Crane Beach — Ipswich, Massachusetts

The extremely popular Crane Beach in the North Shore town of Ipswich was voted the best for beach etiquette by Exoticca’s readers.

Exoticca said that the places that scored the highest in positive beach etiquette were places where people focused on the clarity of the water and the beautiful scenery rather than external distractions like seaside restaurants or shops on the boardwalk, where “everyone around seems to understand that nobody wants the place spoiled.”

Crane Beach is known for its white sand and conservation. It’s one of the nesting places for piping plovers, according to The Trustees.

“To protect threatened shorebirds during your visit, we ask that you avoid the fenced nesting areas and the wrack, the line of washed-up organic debris where the birds feed and hide,” the Trustees said.

Despite having 350,000 people visit annually, according to the Trustees, Crane Beach still achieved the top spot of beach etiquette.

How to visit Crane Beach

Barring going on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or on Veterans’ Day for families with veterans, visitors do have to buy tickets for vehicle entry and parking. Tickets are cheaper if visitors arrive via motorcycle, biking, or walking.

“Strict rules apply: no drop-offs, re-entry for nonmembers, or outside food delivery; dogs and horses are not allowed April 1–September 30,” the ticket selection webpage said.

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@usatodayco.com.

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New Hampshire

Thousands Of Sunflowers Hit Peak Bloom For Limited Time At Coppal House Farm In Lee

Published

2 hours ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

Thousands Of Sunflowers Hit Peak Bloom For Limited Time At Coppal House Farm In Lee

Sunflowers are my absolute FAVORITE flowers. I truly feel like they have magical uplifting abilities. Hence, why I’ve always kept fresh sunflowers in my house, brightening up my kitchen table or even my TV stand.

Obviously, it was a dream of mine to have my maternity photos taken in a sunflower field. They reflect sunshine and exude happiness.

Not to mention, one of my favorite quotes is about sunflowers! “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” Helen Keller

A beautiful reminder to keep an optimistic outlook on life and not dwell on the negative.

So, you can imagine the joy I felt when I learned that New Hampshire had its very own Sunflower Festival at Coppal House Farm in Lee!

Coppal House Farm via Facebook

About the Sunflower Festival:

During the summer, the farm transforms into a sea of golden blooms, giving visitors the chance to wander through thousands of sunflowers, snap photos, enjoy local food vendors, artisan crafts, listen to live music, and experience one of New Hampshire’s most beautiful summer traditions.

Other unique activities on the itinerary? Sip-n-snip! Guests can enjoy a cocktail or mocktail of their choice and cut their own fresh bouquet of flowers.

Or maybe you’re a yoga fan? You can join a 60-minute sweat session from Lee, New Hampshire yoga instructors right in the heart of the flower field.

And because the farm grows oilseed sunflowers for culinary oil (which they harvest in the fall months), the flowers only stay at their peak for a brief window, making the festival a limited-time experience, according to the festival organizers…

What makes this event even more special is the reason behind it. The festival started as a way to share the beauty of the sunflower fields, but it has grown into something much bigger. Organizers say the event has raised more than $90,000 for Make-A-Wish New Hampshire over the years and now shares a portion of its proceeds with several local nonprofit organizations serving the Seacoast community.

Anyone who knows me knows that paying it forward is something that’s incredibly important to me. It’s right up there with my love of sunflowers because both fill my cup in the best way. So, when I found out this festival celebrates my favorite flower and gives back to the community, I knew I had to share it.

Sunflower Festival Details:

This festival only runs from Saturday, July 25th until Sunday, August 2nd. You can get the full list of activities and more on the Coppal Farm website.

Daily Field Hours

10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
(last admission at 6PM because fields close at 6:30)
Weekend Tickets (prepurchased online – day before)
$12 per person ages 13 & older
$10 per person ages 5-12
$10 per person Seniors (65+) & Military
4 yrs & under are always free
Weekend Tickets (purchased day of – online or at farm):
$16 per person ages 13 & older
$14 per person ages 5-12
$14 per person Seniors (65+) & Military
4 yrs & under are always free
includes: access to sunflower fields, craft fair, food vending area, tented shade area, picnic area, farm animals, & live music

Weekday Tickets (prepurchased online – day before)
$8 per person ages 13 & older
$6 per person ages 5-12
$6 per person Seniors (65+) & Military
4 yrs & under are always free

Weekday Tickets (purchased day of – online or at farm)
$12 per person ages 13 & older
$10 per person ages 5-12
$10 per person Seniors (65+) & Military
4 yrs & under are always free

What tickets include:
Access to sunflower fields, food vending area, tented shade area, picnic area, and farm animals

READ MORE: A Classic Fairy Tale Comes To Life At Portsmouth’s Prescott Park This Summer

This festival might just leave you smiling long after you leave the fields!