Jimmy Williams Jr. is general president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), a post he has held since September 1, 2021. A fourth-generation glazier from Philadelphia, he began working for the union in 1998. He was appointed organizing director in 2011 and elected general vice president at large in 2014. He is also a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council and the governing board of North America's Building Trades Unions.
We have documented 1 statement by Jimmy Williams Jr., in 1 case. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
Case updates
Following the lawsuits over armed agents at polling places?
We'll email you if the court rules in any of the three suits, the government files its answer, or officials say more about agents at polling places.
Important updates only. Free. Confirm your email to start. Unsubscribe anytime. How we handle your email.
Role at the time: General President of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, a plaintiff in the lawsuit
Condemned
Statement summary
IUPAT General President Jimmy Williams Jr. said in the Legal Defense Fund's September 18 announcement of the lawsuit, "This is election interference pure and simple." He said deploying federal agents to polling sites has no place in the country and called it authoritarian fearmongering and a blatant attempt to influence elections. He said polling sites should not look like armed camps and that citizens have the right to take part in democracy without masked federal agents trying to deter them.
“This is election interference pure and simple
We are a democratic union and have an obligation to stand up for democratic principles whenever they are attacked. Deploying federal agents to polling sites has no place in this country, it is authoritarian fearmongering and a blatant attempt to influence our elections. Our polling sites shouldn’t look like armed camps. American citizens have the right to engage in our democracy without having masked federal agents trying to deter them”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Civil rights coalition files federal lawsuit challenging threatened use of ICE and federal law enforcement at polling locationsPress release of Sept. 18, 2026, including plaintiff and counsel statements
Why we used this label
The case records responses to the administration's stated or threatened use of ICE and other armed federal agents at or near polling places. Williams said deploying federal agents to polling sites has no place in the country and called it authoritarian fearmongering, and said polling sites should not look like armed camps. That expressly rejects the practice, so we labeled it Condemned.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says ICE would go to polling places only for a threat or a warrant, and DHS says ICE is not planning operations targeting them but arrests could follow a threat. Three lawsuits allege that position violates federal law.
