Defending Democracy with Marc Elias LEAKED AUDIO: Mike Rogers Wants Off-Duty Cops to Intimidate Detroit Voters
Oct 21, 2026
Leaked audio reveals Mike Rogers proposing retired or off-duty police officers as poll watchers in Detroit. The discussion traces this tactic to the RNC’s 1981 intimidation campaign, the court order that restrained it, and its expiration under Trump. It also explores why Detroit was targeted, legal safeguards, and how voters and pro-democracy groups can respond.
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Rogers Proposed Badge Intimidation In Detroit
- Mike Rogers proposed retired or off-duty police as poll watchers in Detroit and encouraged them to intimidate voters by displaying badges.
- Marc Elias says Rogers made the remarks privately to county Republicans, not national media, despite presenting himself as a moderate Republican.
Badge Politics Relies On Election Suspicion
- Rogers’s “flash the badge” language echoes election-denier claims that suspicious activity occurs during overnight vote counting.
- Marc Elias connects this rhetoric to Rogers’s false claim that a Detroit ballot van cost him his 2024 Senate race.
The RNC’s Armed Ballot Security Task Force
- In 1981, the RNC deployed armed or uniformed officers with radios and badges to heavily Black and Latino New Jersey precincts.
- Their armbands and warning posters falsely suggested an official government surveillance operation.