South Dakota Sen. Thomas Pischke is facing two felony forgery counts tied to alleged falsified signatures in election-related documents. After turning himself in to Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, he was released on an alleged promise to retur
When Thomas Pischke walked into Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, it was meant to end one phase of the case. Instead, it kicked off another—two felony counts for forgery in election documents that have now pulled him into the center of South Dakota’s political fight.
Pischke. a Republican state senator from South Dakota. is set to step away from his party duties as he faces two felony counts for forgery in election documents. He is specifically accused of intentionally “falsifying signatures to put candidates forward for state Republican Party positions without them knowing.”.
After an investigation found he falsified signatures, Pischke reportedly turned himself in to the Minnehaha Country Jail in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Tuesday. He was released, according to the account, after allegedly promising not to skip any future court dates.
The preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday, July 7.
In the background, Pischke’s status within the party has already started to shift. While Pischke and his attorney did not reply to The Associated Press with comment. Jim Eschenbaum. the chair of the South Dakota Republican Party. told the outlet that Pischke agreed to leave his party responsibilities as Region 1 Director and Minnehaha County State Committeeman.
“It’s a bad optic for the party,” Eschenbaum told AP on Wednesday. “I’m disappointed that this has happened. But we also have to just be honest about what’s going on, you know, and deal with it.”
For Republicans trying to contain the damage, the legal stakes are just as sharp as the optics. If convicted of one or both felonies. Pischke would not be able to maintain a position within South Dakota’s Republican Party. The South Dakota Constitution also established that anyone who has been convicted of bribery. perjury. or other infamous crimes is ineligible to hold a seat in the state legislature.
The investigation driving the charges reportedly uncovered sixteen documents containing forged signatures and. according to AP. “discrepancies with registered voting addresses.” Per a post to X. thirteen people signed affidavits that confirmed the signatures were forged. Pischke apparently denied filing forms for other people in the affidavit. but AP reported that the investigation uncovered DNA evidence matching Pischke on envelopes containing the forms and used surveillance video to identify a vehicle near a mail drop box that was registered to Pischke.
On the campaign trail, the case is colliding with an election cycle. While it is not yet confirmed if he will drop his bid for reelection in November, Pischke is running against Independent Bryan Breitling.
What’s striking is how quickly party roles and constitutional consequences have moved alongside the criminal allegations—turning a forgery case into a direct test of governance and trust just as voters are preparing to choose a new representative in November.
Thomas Pischke forgery charges election documents South Dakota Republican Party Minnehaha County Jail Sioux Falls preliminary hearing July 7 Bryan Breitling Region 1 Director Minnehaha County State Committeeman
Sounds like someone should’ve checked the signatures way sooner.
Wait he turned himself in and then got released already? So like… is this even serious or is it one of those “promise to come back” things.
I don’t even get how a senator just falsifies stuff and then “steps away” from party duties. Also the article says “released on an alleged promise” like dude that’s not a real guarantee. If he did it, how does he still have any power over election stuff?
This whole thing feels like the GOP circular firing squad. Like they’re claiming bad optic but meanwhile they’re still trying to run regions and committees like nothing happened. Plus “candidates forward without them knowing”?? sounds like the candidates were in on it and just didn’t know at the time or something. I mean South Dakota politics is so small you’d think everyone would’ve noticed the signatures being off.