Annandale Man Pleads Guilty To Posing As FBI Agent At Fairfax County Polling Place

ANNANDALE, VA — An Annandale man has pleaded guilty to posing as an FBI agent at a Fairfax County polling place during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal prosecutors.

Alex Chieu Nguyen, 44, pleaded guilty on Friday to impersonating a federal officer and possessing imitation federal law enforcement credentials, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a statement.

According to court records, Nguyen went to Timber Lane Elementary School in Falls Church on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, wearing dark sunglasses and a blue zip-up sweatshirt with an FBI logo. He also carried a fake badge and an air pistol resembling a Glock handgun in a holster.

Prosecutors said Nguyen approached election officials and greeters, falsely claiming he had been assigned to the FBI's "Election Security." Nguyen has never worked for the FBI and was not authorized to possess or use FBI credentials.

Nguyen later returned to the school and entered the building while voting was underway. When the polling site's chief election official asked for his credentials, Nguyen presented a fake FBI badge and fraudulent identification that identified him as an FBI special agent, prosecutors said.

Nguyen left the school again and was arrested later that day.

U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff accepted Nguyen's guilty plea. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 14, when he faces up to three years in prison.