“We are relieved to no longer have to worry about who will watch our kids if we are both put in jail” - Tupe Smith

Michael Pese (left) and Tupe Smith (right) with their three children at the gravesite of their mother Miliama Suli

Two years, nine months, and five days. Two years and six days. That was how long Tupe Smith and her husband Michael Pese faced criminal prosecution and investigation by the state of Alaska for checking they were “U.S. citizens” on voter registration forms after having been told to do so by public officials. Under federal statutes, they are labeled “non-citizen” U.S. nationals. Now they and eight other American Samoans are no longer facing criminal prosecution after Alaska prosecutors have dropped all charges against them. They were each facing up to 5-10 years in jail on felony charges. 

On November 30, 2023, a month after Ms. Smith had been elected to her local school board with 96% of the vote, there was a knock on her door. It was Alaska State Troopers there to arrest her for alleged voter misconduct. After handcuffing her in front of her two young children, Ms. Smith was transported to a processing facility, where she was strip searched and put in a prison uniform not knowing when she would see her kids again. The only reason she got out was that her husband, Michael Pese, was able to post bail. 

Nine months later there was another knock on the door. Once again it was Alaska State Troopers. This time they had come to investigate Michael Pese. He asked if they were there to arrest him, not to do it in front of the kids. They said that this time they were just there to investigate. The charges came 210 long days later, with the state adding felony perjury charges on top of felony voter misconduct.

Earlier this month, the Alaska Court of Appeals granted Ms. Smith’s motion to dismiss, ruling that the state had failed to show any “consciousness of wrongdoing” or that she “purposely or deliberately” made “a false statement.” Late Friday, Alaska’s Acting Attorney General Cori Mills dismissed all the charges against Michael Pese and the remaining American Samoan defendants.

“We could not have been happier when we heard the news. This was a major stress. It feels like a dark cloud hanging over our heads has been removed. I could not help but worry about worst-case scenarios, and how to deal with not seeing my kids if I’m taken away to prison,” said Michael Pese. 

“It feels good after everything we’ve been through. We are relieved to no longer have to worry about who will watch our kids if we are both put in jail,” said Tupe Smith.

“It seems that the nightmare Tupe and Michael have gone through is finally over,” said Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy, who led the legal team defending Ms. Smith and Mr. Pese. “But even after all this, the state only dismissed the charges ‘without prejudice,’ meaning they reserve the option to file new charges against Tupe, Michael, or others in the future. Given how the state has behaved at every stage of this process, Tupe and Michael deserve to know there won’t be another knock at the door, that this criminal targeting of the American Samoan community is really over. An apology would be nice too.”

“I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to those of our Samoan community in Alaska, American Samoa and across the country who publicly showed their support of Tupe, Michael and the rest of their family. Special thanks to Governor Pulu, Lt. Governor Pulu, Congresswoman Uifatali, Senate President Tuaolo and House Speaker Ale for showing unity in this matter. Tupe should have never been handcuffed in front of her children and suffering the indignities of an arrest. Sending two dozen Alaska State Troopers in a convoy to Whittier Alaska to go door to door to people’s homes and places of work searching for American Samoans was never justifiable.” said Charles Ala’ilima, an American Samoan attorney who also represented Ms. Smith and Mr. Pese.

 “The state’s dismissal of charges is welcome, but these searches, arrests and prosecutions should never have been done in the first place. Nor should it have required an Appeals Court decision to confirm what should have been obvious all along – that there was never any basis to file criminal charges. These prosecutions were traumatizing, not just for those charged, but for the entire American Samoan community in Alaska. It opens all of our eyes to the real difficulties we face as American Samoans because of our current ambiguous and, in my opinion, unconstitutional, non-citizen second class legal status imposed by federal statute,” Ala’ilima added. 

“One of the hardest parts of all this was watching my mom worry about what would happen to her children and grandchildren. The state continued prosecuting my mom even after she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer and told she had just months to live. She had to spend her last moments not knowing what would happen to us, and that was really one of the hardest things,” Mr. Pese added. “While we can’t get that time back, we know that mom is watching over us in heaven and celebrating. Now we just want to make her proud as we continue building our lives in Whititer.”

Michael Pese is also represented by Stoel Rives and Drezner Zelinsky. Tupe Smith is also represented by Stoel Rives and  Cashion Gilmore & Lindemuth.

Right to Democracy has an FAQ on its website with more information about Alaska’s criminal targeting of American Samoans.