Authorities arrested an Alabama lawmaker Tuesday on two felony charges, the state’s attorney general announced.
Alabama State Rep. Kelvin Jamichael Lawrence, a 50-year-old Democrat of Lowndes County, faces a charge of forgery in the second degree and another of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, according to a statement from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office.
“The indictment alleges that Lawrence, with the intent to defraud, falsely made, completed, or altered a builder’s license,” the attorney general’s statement continued. “Both forgery and criminal possession of a forged instrument are Class C felonies punishable by 1 year and 1 day to 10 years in prison.”
The attorney general’s Special Prosecutions Division is investigating the allegations.
No additional information regarding the allegations and the ongoing investigation was available to the public as of Tuesday morning. (RELATED: GOP Lawmaker Neil Friske Arrested After Allegedly Chasing Stripper While Firing Gun)
Lawrence was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2014, The Associated Press reported.
Lawrence thus reportedly becomes the latest Alabama lawmaker to face allegations.
Longstanding Democratic State Rep. John Westley Rogers, Jr., 83, of Birmingham agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama announced Mar. 11. Rogers also agreed to resign from the Alabama House of Representatives.
Fellow Democratic State Rep. Fred L. Plump, Jr. also reportedly pleaded guilty Jun. 2023 to similar charges and resigned.
The charges both lawmakers face involved the Jefferson County Community Service Fund, which was set up to support various public services, according to the prosecuting office’s statement.
Former Republican Rep. David Wayne Cole, 53, of Madison, was convicted Oct. 2023 of voter fraud after prosecutors accused him of renting a “5×5”-sized location in a newly redrawn house district and using the address to vote in a May 2022 primary election even though he did not live there, according to the State Attorney General Marshall’s office. Cole also reportedly used another address to vote in the Nov. 2022 general election at a polling station where he was unauthorized to vote.
Cole won the election but, once charged, reportedly resigned Aug. 2023.
