Joseph Basel, 24, Robert Flanagan, 24, James O’Keefe, 25, and Stan Dai, 24, were charged with entering Landrieu’s New Orleans office, which is federal property, under “false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony,” according to the attorney’s office.
Law enforcement officials say they believe O’Keefe is the conservative activist of the same name who dressed up as a pimp last summer and visited an office of ACORN, a liberal community organizing group, in order to solicit advice on setting up a brothel, among other scenarios.
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Basel and Flanagan attempted to gain access to Landrieu’s office Monday while posing as telephone repairmen, the attorney’s office said in a news release.
The two men were “each dressed in blue denim pants, a blue work shirt, a light green fluorescent vest, a tool belt and a construction-style hard hat when they entered the Hale Boggs Federal Building,” the release said.
After they entered the building, the two men told a staffer in Landrieu’s office they were telephone repairmen, according to the release. They then asked for, and were granted, access to the reception desk’s phone system.
O’Keefe, meanwhile, recorded their actions with a cell phone.
Flanagan and Basel later requested access to a telephone closet, claiming they needed to perform work on the main phone system, the release said. Dai aided the others in planning the operation, the release said.
If convicted, the four men would each face a fine of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison, according to the release