Hoax bomb threats that the FBI believes originated in Russia targeted five battleground states including Georgia on Tuesday.
“The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” the agency said in a statement. “None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far. Election integrity is among the FBI’s highest priorities.”
The threats caused minimal disruptions, according to election leaders. The Russian Embassy in Washington D.C. denied any involvement.
“Once again, Washington’s rhetoric demonstrates a desire to shift blame,” the embassy said in a statement posted on social media. “The biased assessments of the United States regarding electoral processes abroad indicate only double standards and disdain for the ‘democratic values’ proclaimed here.”
The FBI did not release specifics about where the threats were made. But some election officials in areas targeted announced those locations.
In metro Atlanta, the bomb threats temporarily closed 13 precincts in Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties while law enforcement agencies searched the buildings.
“These buildings need to be evacuated, someone placed a bomb in them and they will detonate soon,” an email sent to various locations and media outlets stated.
The precincts that were searched were allowed to stay open later to make up for the time voters were kept outside. By 8:30 p.m., all precincts in the Atlanta area were closed.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
“Georgia is not going to be intimidated. Russia just decided they picked on the wrong Georgia,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Tuesday. “They need to pick on the other one in the Black Sea because we’re not going to be intimidated, but we’re just excited about where we are right now.”
Georgia saw a record number of votes cast in the election. Turnout approached 5.3 million voters, breaking the state’s previous record of 5 million voters in the 2020 election.
The other states targeted with threats also reported minimal distractions.
In Pennsylvania, at least 10 polling locations in South Philadelphia were threatened in a single email sent to several officials at about 6 p.m., Nick Custodio, a spokesperson for City Commissioner Lisa Deeley, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
In Perry County, Pennsylvania, located about 40 miles east of Hershey, election directors postponed the scanning of mail and absentee ballots Tuesday night due to a bomb threat.
In Wisconsin, Ann Jacobs, head of the state’s Elections Commission, said bomb threats were sent to two polling locations in the state capital of Madison, but did not disrupt voting, Reuters reported. A spokesperson for Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, said there had been reports of bomb threats at several polling locations, but none were credible, the news agency reported.
In Arizona, election results were delayed in Apache, Cochise and LaPaz counties due to threats, the secretary of state said Tuesday evening.
Four polling locations in Navajo County received bomb threats, according to Arizona media reports. A threat to the Maricopa County Court was reported, as well as a “critical incident” at the La Paz County complex.
“As for bomb threats in Arizona, they pertained to four specific locations in Navajo County only,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.
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