DA Flynn: justice is served in case against Rus Thompson who voted where he didn’t live. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. pic.twitter.com/am7QUUr1XD— Erie County DA (@da_erie) February 16, 2017
Thompson, who was originally charged with five felonies related to voting fraud, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a misdemeanor. This followed his rejecting a previous plea deal for first-degree filing a false instrument, a felony.
Thompson said he could not accept a felony on his record as it would restrict his future voting rights and gun ownership rights — especially as he had felt the whole ordeal was a political witch hunt against him led by his political opponents.
In his admission of the crime, Thompson noted he voted in Grand Island — but only in Grand Island — because he felt his residence in Niagara Falls to be temporary.
He will be sentenced May 3. It could include as much as three years probation.
