Lara Trump’s vow to “prosecute” election cheats raises eyebrows

Lara Trump, former President Donald Trump‘s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), vowed on Friday at a conservative event to “prosecute” election cheats, raising eyebrows from social media users.

While speaking at Turning Point Action’s (TPA) Detroit convention on Friday, Lara sent a warning to people who commit election fraud within the country: “If you cheat in an election, we’ll find you, we will track you down and we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law.”

Lara’s threat was cheered on by the audience and applauded by Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk, who was sitting on stage next to her.

However, some social media users used Lara’s words against her.

Keith Olbermann, a political journalist who used to work for MSNBC, among other networks, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “So @LaraLeaTrump just threatened her father-in-law?”

Trump, who is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, sowed doubt about the integrity of U.S. elections in the lead up to his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. He then claimed the election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud despite there being no evidence of this.

Following Trump’s election fraud claims, a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s election win. Trump has not claimed any responsibility for the riot and has pleaded not guilty to four federal felony counts relating to his alleged actions surrounding January 6.

Newsweek has reached out to Donald Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, via email and the RNC via online form for comment.

An X user who goes by Strictly Christo and typically shares liberal-leaning commentary, reacted to Lara’s warning and wrote: “Ironic, since the only people being prosecuted for attempting to steal the 2020 election are dozens of Republicans.”

Trump was indicted in Georgia, along with 18 co-defendants, in August 2023 for allegedly conspiring to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, which saw Biden win by a slim margin. The former president has pleaded not guilty to those charges and claims all civil and criminal cases against him are politically motivated.

Meanwhile, there are cases against Trump allies in Arizona and Nevada, accusing them of fraudulently trying to overturn the election results in the swing states.

An X user by the name of Modern Man, who describes himself as a political activist and typically posts anti-MAGA comments, posted a collage of the mugshots of Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.

“Lara Trump says she will root out and prosecute anybody who tries to cheat in an election. Here’s a starter pack for ya Mrs TRUMP,” Modern Man wrote.

Larry Middleton, a self-described liberal, wrote on X, “Lara Trump says that she’ll prosecute anyone found to have cheated in eelections [sic]. She has apparently never met her family. Then again, she probably thinks a Hanging Chad has something to do with porn.”

A hanging Chad, in terms of voting, may indicate an unclear or incomplete election ballot.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan New York University School of Law pro-democracy institute, “extensive research reveals that fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or administrators.”

The institute also said that mail-in ballots, which Trump attacked before the 2020 election, but now says are a “good” option, are a secure way to cast votes.