A federal judge on Friday ordered Virginia to reinstate more than 1,600 self-identified noncitizen voter registrations, ruling that they were illegally purged in the last two months to stop voter fraud.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles, a Biden appointee, granted an injunction request brought against Virginia election officials by the Biden Justice Department, which argued the National Voter Registration Act restricts states from making large-scale changes to their voter rolls 90-days before an election.

The Virginia attorney general’s office said Friday that the state intends to appeal the ruling.

The Justice Department and private groups, including the League of Women Voters, said many of the 1,600 voters were in fact citizens whose registrations were canceled because of bureaucratic errors or simple mistakes like a mischecked box on a form.

Justice Department lawyer Sejal Jhaveri said during an all-day injunction hearing Thursday in Alexandria, Virginia, that’s precisely why federal law prevents states from implementing systematic changes to the voter rolls in the 90 days before an election, “to prevent the harm of having eligible voters removed in a period where it’s hard to remedy.”

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin released the following statement on the judge’s ruling.

“Let’s be clear about what just happened: only eleven days before a Presidential election, a federal judge ordered Virginia to reinstate over 1,500 individuals–who self-identified themselves as noncitizens–back onto the voter rolls. Almost all these individuals had previously presented immigration documents confirming their noncitizen status, a fact recently verified by federal authorities.

“This is a Virginia law passed in 2006, signed by then-Governor Tim Kaine, that mandates certain procedures to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls, with safeguards in place to affirm citizenship before removal–and the ultimate failsafe of same-day registration for U.S. citizens to cast a provisional ballot. This law has been applied in every Presidential election by Republicans and Democrats since enacted 18 years ago.

“Virginia will immediately petition the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court, for an emergency stay of the injunction.”

Virginia’s Republican attorney general, Jason Miyares, also issued a statement Friday criticizing the ruling.

“It should never be illegal to remove an illegal voter,” he said. “Yet, today a Court – urged by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice – ordered Virginia to put the names of non-citizens back on the voter rolls, mere days before a presidential election. The Department of Justice pulled this shameful, politically motivated stunt 25 days before Election Day, challenging a Virginia process signed into law 18 years ago by a Democrat governor and approved by the Department of Justice in 2006.”

Update:

Former President Trump delivered remarks on Judge Giles’ ruling during a press conference in Austin, Texas. Friday, calling it “unconstitutional.”

“This decision goes against the bedrock of our democracy and thankfully Virginia Glenn Youngkin, who is doing a terrific job, is working hard to fix this problem,” Trump said.

In a statement on Truth Social Friday, Trump issued a warning to anyone planning to engage in voter fraud in the 2024 election, promising that if caught, they would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”

CEASE & DESIST: I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election. It was a Disgrace to our Nation! Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.