How the hell is nobody talking about this? A fucking Russian national defrauded our election.
And yet, here we are, drowning in bullshit debates about “election integrity,” listening to the same tired fear-mongering about illegal immigrants voting, while an actual Russian national—yes, Russian—has been arrested for voter fraud in Florida.
Let’s make one thing crystal clear before we dive deep into this mess: This is exactly the kind of fraud Republicans claim to care about—but will they say a damn thing now?
Meet Dmitry Shushlebin: The Russian Caught Committing Voter Fraud in Florida
On February 3, 2025, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of Dmitry Shushlebin, a 45-year-old Russian national living in Miami Beach, Florida. Alongside him? Sanjar Jamilov, a 33-year-old Uzbek national from St. Petersburg, Florida. These two weren’t just casually filling out fraudulent ballots for fun—they were running a full-blown voter registration fraud operation.
Their scam? Submitting 132 fraudulent voter registration applications in Pinellas County, Florida, between February and March of 2023. And it wasn’t sloppy work. This was organized, deliberate, and systematic fraud designed to sneak in fake voters under the radar.
How do we know? Well, because they made some mistakes—like using:
- The same formatting across multiple applications, complete with identical typos (rookie move).
- Repeating dates of birth and addresses that should’ve set off alarms earlier.
- Nearly sequential Social Security numbers that just screamed “fraud.”
- Change of address forms filed with the USPS to reroute mail from the fake voters straight to their personal locations.
You know, just small details that make it very fucking obvious this was intentional and coordinated.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: This is the kind of election fraud Republicans have been screaming about for years—but now that an actual Russian has been caught, where’s the outrage?
This is the real voter fraud they claim is happening. The problem? It wasn’t an immigrant crossing the border. It wasn’t a Democrat ballot-stuffing scam. It was a Russian national committing fraud in an American election.
And let’s not ignore where it happened: Florida.
Florida, the state where Ron DeSantis and his MAGA allies have been screaming about “election security.” The same Florida where DeSantis launched an “election police force” in 2022 to crack down on voter fraud (which, ironically, mostly arrested people who didn’t even realize they were ineligible to vote).
And yet, this actual voter fraud case wasn’t stopped by DeSantis’ election police—it was caught by federal authorities. The silence from the right-wing media on this should tell you everything.
The GOP’s “Election Integrity” Hypocrisy
For years, Republicans have pushed the Big Lie—the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen—and used it to justify everything from voter suppression laws to fake electors trying to overturn Biden’s victory.
Yet, here we have clear, undeniable evidence of election fraud committed by a foreign national—something that should, in theory, prove their point—but it doesn’t fit the narrative they want.
If this had been a Mexican immigrant committing voter fraud, Fox News would be running this 24/7.
If this had been a Black voter mistakenly casting a ballot, they’d be demanding harsher penalties.
If this had been a Democrat committing fraud, there would already be congressional hearings.
But a Russian? Silence.
What Was Their Endgame?
This is where things get even messier. Why was a Russian and an Uzbek national engaging in voter fraud? What was the goal here?
Were they trying to:
- Test weaknesses in the election system to see what they could get away with?
- Create fake voters to tip an election?
- Help certain candidates win or discredit the entire process?
- Act as part of a larger network aimed at undermining democracy?
We don’t know yet. But we should be demanding answers.
Let’s not forget that Russia already interfered in the 2016 election—confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies. And let’s not forget that Trump publicly invited Russia to interfere, even praising Putin while throwing America’s intelligence community under the bus.
Could this case be another attempt by foreign actors to manipulate U.S. elections? We should be talking about this. Investigating this. Broadcasting this.
The Consequences (If Any)
Shushlebin and Jamilov have been charged with conspiracy to submit fraudulent voter registration applications and providing false information in registering to vote. If convicted, they each face up to five years in prison.
But let’s be real: Is five years enough?
Let’s compare:
- A Black woman in Texas got five years for mistakenly casting a ballot when she thought she was eligible.
- Trump supporters who committed actual election fraud in 2020 got slaps on the wrist.
- January 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol got mixed sentences—some walking free already.
Will these two actually face real consequences? Or will their case quietly disappear now that the headlines have faded?
Where’s the Outrage?
You know who isn’t silent? Us.
We need to call this out. We need to demand real answers. We need to force the conversation.
The next time a Republican starts ranting about “election integrity,” ask them:
- Where’s your outrage about this actual case of voter fraud?
- Why are you silent when a Russian was caught committing election crimes?
- Do you really care about democracy, or just about winning?
Because election fraud is real—but it’s not happening the way they’ve been telling you.
And if we don’t talk about this, if we don’t make noise, it will keep happening—and next time, we might not catch it in time.
