GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An arrest warrant was issued Friday for Rolex Augustin – the Haitian man accused of trying to open a ballot box at Green Bay City Hall – after he didn’t appear for a court hearing.
Augustin, 32, was charged with one misdemeanor count of attempted election fraud – open a ballot box, for the Sept. 21 incident.
Augustin was charged on Sept. 25. At that time, he was in jail, and a signature bond was set. However, he was released from the jail on Sept. 30, county records show.
A status conference was scheduled for Friday morning, but Augustin did not show, so an arrest warrant was issued, according to court records.
Brown County Jail records show there had been an ICE detainer placed on him, but it is unclear when that may have been lifted.
Searches of the federal Bureau of Prisoners and Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections inmate/offender rosters show no results for him.
According to the criminal complaint, staff noticed the security seal had been broken.
Review of City Hall surveillance video showed a male later identified as Rolex Augustin approach the ballot box, remove the security seal, walk away, return moments later, and tug on the ballot box door before leaving the area. The ballot box remained secured and officers observed no damage to the box, door, or lock,” it states.
Police used the video to find Augustin.
“After being advised he was under arrest for cutting the seal on the ballot box, Augustin stated that he ‘did that on purpose’ because he wanted to be arrested and believed doing so would result in his deportation to Haiti,” the complaint states.
There was no damage to the ballot box and he did not gain entry to it, according to the complaint.
The city confirmed that no ballots were accessed or compromised.
