James Brass #

Introduction #

James Brass, a 47-year-old man from Victorville, California, was arrested by federal agents before dawn on Thursday, September 10, 2026, on charges that he paid people in Los Angeles’ Skid Row to sign ballot-initiative petitions using the stolen identities of registered voters. Prosecutors allege Brass, who was known by the nickname “Lord,” ran the scheme through his small company, Pinnacle Brass LLC, and worked with two petition circulators who were also charged. Federal prosecutors cast the case as part of a broader push against election fraud in California, with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli saying the charged conduct “undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems” . All three defendants are charged, not convicted, and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Background Information #

Public details about Brass’s life before the case are limited. According to prosecutors, he ran Pinnacle Brass LLC, a small signature-gathering company registered with the California Secretary of State . Under California’s initiative process, proponents of ballot measures must collect hundreds of thousands of signatures within tight deadlines, and proponents typically hired petition management companies to gather signatures, contracting with outside individuals to collect them . Prosecutors say Brass worked within that system as a contractor, allegedly receiving payments from coordinators working with a petition management company. His arrest came amid heightened scrutiny of Skid Row voter registration and signature-gathering practices: reporting in June 2026 described homeless residents saying they were paid small sums for signatures and registrations, with one resident saying “They will pay you to fill out the petition” and another recounting “Cigarettes, here you go. Money, here you go” .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

According to a federal grand jury indictment returned Wednesday, September 9, 2026, Brass and two petition circulators, Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California, paid Skid Row residents a few dollars each to sign ballot-measure petitions in the names of existing registered voters. All three are charged with conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony, and Brass and Price are additionally charged with identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony . Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from February until last month: Brass allegedly managed a team of signature collectors and collected signatures himself, while he and Price used a database to identify registered California voters and handed out those voters’ stolen identities on Skid Row, paying signers to copy the voters’ personal information onto petitions and fraudulently sign in their names . Afterward, Brass and Herron allegedly signed the petitions’ declarations, falsely declaring under penalty of perjury that they personally witnessed each signature and that each was “the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be” . According to the indictment, Brass was paid roughly $41,600 for the signatures. On the morning of his arrest, the New York Post reported that agents were surprised when Brass, a.k.a. “Lord,” came out of his modest home around 4:45 a.m. and got into his car; agents tailing him pulled him over a short distance away and took him into custody without incident around 6 a.m. . Essayli said in a statement, “These defendants used stolen identities of registered voters to manufacture signatures on ballot petitions used to shape California law,” adding, “They preyed on the vulnerable homeless population and used them to try to cover their tracks” .

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The charges drew statements from senior federal officials. Essayli, who labeled the case on X as “California Election Fraud,” said the defendants “allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks” and that his office “will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved” . FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement, “Securing American elections from criminal interference is of the utmost importance to this FBI” . If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in federal prison for each count. The case landed amid broader concern about Skid Row election practices: voting records showed 1,160 voter registrations tied to the Midnight Mission shelter, which has beds for only 84 men and 36 women . Prosecutors noted it was unclear whether Brass is connected to Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, who admitted in a federal plea deal in May 2026 to illegally registering Skid Row residents to vote in what reporters described as a 20-year scheme .

Current Status #

Brass was taken into custody on September 10, 2026, and was expected to make his initial appearance that afternoon in federal court in Riverside . A deputy federal public defender representing Brass did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and no plea was reported in the sources available at this writing . Price and Herron had not been arrested as of the L.A. Times reporting and could not be reached for comment . It remains unclear how many signatures the defendants allegedly collected and which of the nine statewide ballot proposals in 2026 they worked on. His work as a signature-gathering contractor is on hold while the charges are pending. The criminal case remains pending.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The arrest and charges have brought Brass’s signature-gathering work to a halt. Prosecutors allege he received about $41,600 from coordinators working with a petition management company for the signatures, and he now faces up to five years in federal prison for each of the two counts he is charged with . The indictment alleges Brass hired the workers through his LLC, Pinnacle Brass, and reporting noted no record of the company could be immediately located . His case has become part of the public record of California election-fraud enforcement, cited in coverage of Skid Row petition and registration practices alongside earlier cases such as Armstrong’s guilty plea . The allegations remain allegations: Brass has been charged but not convicted, and the case will be decided in court.