At least two polling sites in Georgia briefly evacuated

6/11/2024 6:08

        Hoax bomb threats, many of
        which appeared to originate from Russian email domains, were
        directed at polling locations in three battleground states -
        Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin - as Election Day voting was
        underway, the FBI said on Tuesday.
        
        "None of the threats have been determined to be credible
        thus far," the FBI said in a statement, adding that election
        integrity was among the bureau's highest priorities.
        
        At least two polling sites targeted by the hoax bomb threats
        in Georgia were briefly evacuated on Tuesday.
        
        Those two locations in Fulton County both re-opened after
        about 30 minutes, officials said, and the county is seeking a
        court order to extend the location's voting hours past the
        statewide 7 p.m. deadline.
        Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger blamed
        Russian interference for the Election Day bomb hoaxes.
        
        "They're up to mischief, it seems. They don't want us to
        have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can get
        us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory,"
        Raffensperger told reporters.
        
        The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately
        respond to a request for comment.
        
        Reuters could not immediately determine how many hoax bomb
        threats were received in Michigan and Wisconsin.
        
        Ann Jacobs, head of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said
        fake bomb threats were sent to two polling locations in the
        state capital of Madison, but did not disrupt voting. Jacobs did
        not know if the threats were linked to Russia.
        
        An FBI official said that Georgia alone received more than
        two dozen, most of which occurred in Fulton County, which
        encompasses much of Atlanta, a Democratic stronghold.
        
        A senior official in Raffensperger's office, speaking on
        the condition of anonymity to speak freely, said the Georgia
        bomb hoaxes were sent from email addresses that had been used by
        Russians trying to interfere in previous U.S. elections.
        
        The threats were sent to U.S. media and the two polling
        locations, the official said. "It's a likelihood it's Russia,"
        the official said.
        
        Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican
        former President Donald Trump are locked in a tight race to win
        the White House. Opinion polls suggest the contest is too close
        to call.
        
        The phony bomb threats mark the latest in a string of
        examples of alleged interference by the Russians in the 2024
        election.
        
        On Nov. 1, U.S. intelligence officials warned that Russian
        actors manufactured a video that falsely depicted Haitians
        illegally casting ballots in Georgia. Intelligence officials
        also found that the Russians created a separate phony video
        which falsely accused someone associated with the Harris
        presidential ticket of taking a bribe from an entertainer.
        
        U.S. intelligence officials have also accused Russia of
        interfering in previous U.S. presidential elections, especially
        the 2016 race which Trump won against Democratic candidate
        Hillary Clinton.