Atlanta, Georgia – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told reporters Tuesday that the non-credible threats that briefly disrupted voting at two polling places originated from Russia.
“We’ve heard some threats that were of Russian origin,” Raffensperger said, adding that “in the interest of public safety, we always check that out, and we’ll just continue to be very responsible when we hear about stuff like that.”
The secretary did not elaborate on how exactly state officials determined the bomb threats came from Russia.
The non-credible threats caused the temporary closure of polling places in Union City, just outside of Atlanta, according to Fulton County police. Union City’s population is nearly 90% Black, according to the US Census Bureau.
An FBI statement did not address the source of the threat.
“FBI is aware of several bomb threats that have been made around the state of Georgia. Election integrity and protecting our community is our highest priority, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote,” the agency said in a statement.
The statement said the bureau has no information to indicate the threat is credible.
“They’re up to mischief, it seems, and they don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election,” Raffensperger said of Russia. “Anything that can get us to fight amongst ourselves — they can count that as a victory.”
