Austin, Texas (AP) — A man in Houston, who received widespread attention after standing side by side for six hours to cast ballots in the 2020 Democratic presidential election, never voted for him to vote on Friday. He was imprisoned for being illegal. Parole.

Herbis Rogers became the face of the Texas battle for voting access overnight when he emerged from the polling place of the Historically Black Colleges at around 1:30 am. — Mostly a democratic region of the minority. The line in the almost white Republican neighborhood was short.

“It was the way it was set, it seemed like I was set to leave,” Rogers told reporters in a comment carried by multiple media outlets, Including Associated Press..

He was arrested this week on two charges of illegal voting, two felony charges that could result in imprisonment of two to twenty years. His bail was set at $ 100,000.

Rogers, 62, was not eligible to vote under Texas law because he voted in March last year while he was released on parole from a felony robbery. Andre Segura, a Texas ACLU lawyer representing Rogers, said his client was unaware that he was not eligible to vote.He compared to a Fort Worth woman, Crystal Mason Received a sentence of 5 years in prison She also said she was unaware that she couldn’t do it for throwing a provisional ballot during the 2016 probation period.

“Mr. Rogers was very proud to make the headline after waiting hours for what he thought was his civil duty,” Segura said.

Rare arrests for allegations of illegal voting come as Texas Republicans Start the second trial When passing through many of the same restrictive voting measures blocked by the Democratic Party during a dramatic midnight strike in May. Texas is the largest state in which the Republicans have vowed to make voting changes, since Donald Trump falsely claimed to have been the victim of fraud in the 2020 elections.

According to court records, Rogers has been charged by the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton of the Republican Texas Party. Failed attempt To overturn President Joe Biden’s victory over the US Supreme Court. His spokesman did not immediately respond to a message about Roger’s indictment.

In March 2020, Rogers said he was one of the last people allowed to line up at Texas Southern University before the vote ended at 7 pm. Photos of voters waiting in long lines on the Houston campus were posted on the news website and bounced around social media. Rogers considered resigning, but told reporters that “every vote is important.”

Houston’s election officials have accused the long line of local Republicans refusing to hold a joint primary with the Democratic Party. Republican leaders said the county tried to shift responsibility, saying county officials who assigned the same number of voting machines to both parties ignored the warn about turnout in the fiercely contested Democratic presidential primary. Blame.

As soon as Saturday, Texas Republicans were able to begin advancing the resurrected election bill at the Legislature. One provision would require the court to explain to the defendant how a felony conviction affects the right to vote. Democrat John Bushy has pushed the aftermath of Mason’s ruling.

“Intention is essential,” Bucy said. “We really have to push these bills back, as much of what they’re trying to do can criminalize mistakes.”