Seattle Democrat Pleads Guilty to Interfering With 200 Florida Republicans' Right to Vote

A Seattle man imploded on his ill-conceived plot to get even with Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Secretary of State Ken Detzner and finally pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to sending letters to GOP donors questioning their citizenship and ability to vote in the 2012 election.

Ardent Democrat James Webb Baker Jr. pleaded guilty in Tampa federal court to one count each of voter intimidation and identification fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine.

It was all about payback, Baker has said.

Prosecutors have explained that Baker became angry when he read about effots in Florida to purge voter registration rolls of non-U.S. citizens. He believed the purges were an effort to suppress voter turnout of naturalized citizens who were likely minorities and more likely to vote Democratic.

John Fitzgibbons, Baker's attorney, released a statement to speak for his client: Mr. Baker regrets the events which led to these charges. He has acknowledged and accepted responsibility for his actions and we look forward to the conclusion of this matter.

Baker has signed a plea agreement acknowledging he created letters that looked like they had come from real Florida election officials and sent them to 200 donors who had given to Scott's campaign, including Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry.

The letter told recipients that in order to restore their voting eligibility, they had 15 days to fill out a voter registration form. Baker apparently inserted a warning in bold that anyone who casts a vote without being properly registered could face criminal prosecution.

He knew he was breaking the law, according to the plea agreement. He used a Xerox Phaser 6180 printer he bought from Craigslist.com and tried to avoid detection by wearing gloves and using a sponge to seal the envelopes.

The plea agreement states, (Baker) knew his actions were unlawful, and he knew his actions were intimidating, threatening, or coercive. The defendant sent the letters for the purpose of interfering with the recipients right to vote.

A story in Friday's Miami Herald says sentence guidelines indicate Baker is unlikely to get a full six years in prison.