ATLANTA, US — Bomb threats targeted scores of polling places in several battleground states on a tense US Election Day, with authorities pointing toward suspected Russian involvement.
The 2024 US presidential campaign has been a particularly volatile one, and security was ramped up given concerns over possible civil unrest, election chicanery and violence against poll workers.
Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania all reported hoax threats that in some cases briefly interrupted voting while police checked for bombs, though authorities did not report finding any explosives.
“The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” spokeswoman Savannah Syms said in a statement.
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” she added, urging the public to “remain vigilant.”
Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reported 60 threats in counties around the state, and identified Russian involvement without elaborating.
At least 10 voting sites in areas around Georgia’s biggest city Atlanta were evacuated and searched, police in Fulton and DeKalb counties said.
“We are the descendants of, the sons and daughters of people who faced lynch mobs, water cannon… to exercise the right to vote. And so we aren’t going to let bomb threats turn us around,” Kobi, the mayor of South Fulton who goes by one name, told AFP.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told reporters that multiple bomb threats were called in to polling sites and public buildings across the state, but none appeared to be credible.
Arizona, which reported four threats, pointed toward apparent Russian involvement.
“We have reason to believe, though I won’t get into specifics, that this comes from one of our foreign enemies — namely Russia,” Arizona’s Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said.
“They’ve been busy lately.”
