Noncitizen Mayor Avoids Jail, Pleads Guilty

0:00Joe Sevalos, the 55-year-old former mayor of tiny Coldwater, Kansas, just cut a plea deal dodging jail time after voting illegally as a non-citizen he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly election conduct, agreed to pay a $2,000 fine and serve one year of probation. This wraps up charges that blew up last year when he won re-election with 83% of the vote in a town of under 700 folks. Sevalos, a green card holder born in Mexico and raised here since childhood, got hit with six felony counts right after that big win last November. He cast ballots in 2022, 2023, and 2024, despite being on voter rolls since at least 2006. He stepped down his mayor in December, claiming he thought legal residents could vote. The close knit, mostly conservative community rallied hard behind him, flooding officials with support and treating him like family. His lawyer says the courtroom buzzed with relief on Monday, crediting that hometown love

1:02for softening the deal. Kansas Attorney General Chris Cobak called it a win for the public interest, stressing no citizenship checks that registration led here, but his office stays out of immigration matters. Sevalos applied for citizenship this February, and while the plea drops felonies, deportation risks linger since Fed's eye removal if convicted big. With the town wishing for more common sense from politicians, Sevalos hopes to stay put and keep building his life in cold water, but immigrations. Unpredictable path leads everyone watching close. That wraps Kansas news today, brought to you with AI, I'm Corey with the story.