Flint City Council Member Leon El-Alamin — the face of Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s criminal record expungement program — now faces felony election fraud charges in Michigan.
Prosecutors allege the former cocaine dealer lied under oath about living within city limits to qualify for his council seat.
“Most of the employees submitted the registrations with false information because it was easy money.”
El-Alamin, 45, allegedly claimed he resided within Flint’s city limits when he filed his candidacy affidavit in April 2025. He didn’t. Instead, he was living in nearby Mt. Morris Township while using a Flint rental property he owned as his stated address, according to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.
A tenant at the Flint address told investigators El-Alamin was the landlord — not a resident.
The official charge is election law false swearing, or perjury. If convicted, El-Alamin faces up to five years in prison and automatic removal from the November ballot.
Prosecutors allege El-Alamin made a false affidavit, or swore falsely under oath, to qualify as a candidate for elective office: https://t.co/GuIEbO0jJNpic.twitter.com/aTSR8qAGjD
— WNEM TV5 News (@WNEMTV5news) July 14, 2026
El-Alamin is free on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond after his arraignment earlier this month. The charges come nearly two years after Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office received a complaint accusing him of wrongdoing.
He told reporters the accusations are “a political distraction that shifts attention away from the real issues our residents and neighbors are facing.”
“I have always believed in the rule of law and due process,” El-Alamin said in a statement, adding he is “confident that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
Domestic Violence Charges Pending
The election fraud case isn’t El-Alamin’s only legal problem.
He awaits an October trial on a felony charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Mt. Morris Township police arrested him a little over a year ago on allegations he choked and caused lacerations on his then-girlfriend’s face after she called 911.
El-Alamin has pleaded not guilty. The charges include a habitual offender enhancement.
Flint Councilmember Jerri Winfrey-Carter called for his removal from the council.
“The disturbing and detailed statement from the survivor outlines a brutal and terrifying assault, including choking, dragging, punching, and threats of further violence,” Winfrey-Carter wrote on her Facebook page. “Her courage to speak out in the face of trauma is commendable, and I stand with her.”
El-Alamin runs a $1 million nonprofit dedicated to providing “comprehensive non-violence prevention programs.”
From Prison to Whitmer Photo-Op
El-Alamin was sentenced in 2003 to a minimum of 12 years in prison on drug and weapons charges.
“After graduating from high school, the allure of earning fast money made Leon start hustling drugs,” his bio states. A few years later, he ended up in a coma following a shootout over a drug turf war. He was convicted at age 30.
El-Alamin entered prison as Leon Wilson, his birth name. While incarcerated, he converted to Islam and changed his last name.
He was a beneficiary of Whitmer’s Clean Slate Act, which wipes out criminal records of ex-convicts. The far-left governor snapped a photo with him in 2024 — it’s on his Facebook page. The page also features photos he took with Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.
Whitmer’s office did not return a request for comment.
Michigan’s 2020 Voter Registration Scandal
El-Alamin’s election fraud case moves forward as Michigan again lands in the national spotlight for election integrity failures.
Last week in his nationwide address, President Donald Trump said he asked FBI Director Kash Patel to “fully” investigate a leftist voter registration scheme involving potentially thousands of fraudulent signatures. Trump announced that he had declassified intelligence documents that detail the FBI’s investigation from 2020.
The records offer a window into the massive voter registration fraud operation in Muskegon, Michigan, that tracked as many as 10,000 suspicious or forged registration forms submitted in the weeks before the 2020 election.
“Most of the employees submitted the registrations with false information because it was easy money.”
One former employer told FBI agents that her bosses required her to submit “two to three applications to get paid.”
Another canvasser told FBI agents that she knew of other canvassers “who would trade marijuana and money for voter registration applications.”
One former employee estimated she submitted 100 fake voter registration applications.
Nobody was ever held accountable.
In 2023, Republicans in the Michigan House introduced articles of impeachment against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who allegedly “violated her constitutional oath of office by failing to faithfully discharge the duties of her office.” Nessel opted not to prosecute.
“Despite the fact that an October 2020 investigation found evidence that an organization submitted clearly fraudulent voter registration applications to the Muskegon City Clerk, Attorney General Nessel has failed to charge those responsible for forging and filing these documents,” the resolution stated.
The Michigan State Police, which worked with Nessel’s office on the state probe, covered for the controversial attorney general.
“[N]one of the irregular voter registrations in Muskegon resulted in voters receiving absentee ballots, any resulting registrations have been voided, and there is no expected impact on any election,” the law enforcement agency said in a statement.
The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.
