Lancaster County Sheriff's Office badge. (Photo credit to Jeff Motz/KFOR News)LINCOLN–(KFOR Aug. 7)–Five people from outside of Nebraska have been arrested from an investigation stemming from thousands of fraudulent petition signatures that were rejected by the Lancaster County Election Commissi on. On Friday, Lancaster County Chief Deputy Sheriff Ben Houchin told reporters the signatures were found on a trio of petitions and the U.S. Marshal’s Office have helped in arresting five people from Washington, DC, Missouri, Nevada and Florida. More arrest warrants have been obtained, but the suspects in custody are in the process of being extradited back to Nebraska and the identities will be released later. “Nothing in our investigation makes us believe any political entity is working or affiliated with this,” Houchin said. “These are people out doing crimes. Period.” KFOR News asked Chief Houchin if anyone from the group organizing the petitions would be facing any legal issues at the moment. “That is a great question and we are continuing to investigate on that,” Houchin said.  “There’s a lot of unanswered questions that we some more time to investigate and get.” The Lancaster County Election Commission this week rejected about 65% of the more than 30,000 signatures gathered by the conservative group, Good Government Lincoln, turned on three petitions the group has to reshape Lincoln elections in November. Only 4,900 signatures on each petition were validated. The three petitions include changing election dates, expanding municipal election borders and having term limits for representatives on the Lincoln City Council. Good Government Lincoln says they will restart signature gathering. Houchin said the investigation is ongoing and credited the Election Commission, the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service for their roles in the case. Governor Jim Pillen issued a statement Friday about the arrests, saying, “Like most Nebraskans, I am deeply troubled by the reports breaking today of historic fraud in connection with signature-gathering campaigns in recent weeks. “The Legislature made a terrible decision in 2015 when it repealed the prohibition on paid signature gathering. The results have been Nebraskans being harassed on the street by in-state and out-of-state signature gatherers, skyrocketing payouts per signature, and outright criminal activity.” Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers also issued a statement on Friday.  He said, “The Office of the Attorney General takes petition fraud allegations seriously and will work with partnered agencies to root it out wherever it may be found and bring those who commit it to justice. We are committed to protecting the integrity of the petition process and maintaining public trust. When credible information arises, we dedicate the resources needed to examine each situation thoroughly. Our office enforces election laws without bias, fear, or favor.” ...read more read less