Incendiary device placed in ballot boxes Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, this month reportedly included text messages supporting Gaza and Palestine.

The first incident occurred on October 8 in Vancouver, where a device was placed in a box marked “Free Palestine” and “Free Gaza”.

Then, early Monday, two more ballot boxes were set on fire, one in Portland and the other in Vancouver. incendiary devices It was marked with the message “Free Gaza”.

The Portland Police Bureau has released images of the suspicious vehicle believed to be connected to the ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver. (Portland Police Bureau)

A. law enforcement officer He confirmed the “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” messages sent to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Both the Portland and Vancouver Police Departments did not verify the messages and referred questions to the FBI.

FBI Portland said it is actively investigating both cases.

Police said incendiary devices were placed outside the boxes.

All three incidents are believed to be linked. The man suspected of setting fire to the distribution boxes was an experienced metalworker and may have been planning additional attacks, authorities said Wednesday.

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Authorities say the suspect is a white man aged 30-40, bald and with very short hair.

Police have released photos of a suspicious vehicle allegedly involved in ballot box fires in Vancouver and Portland. (Portland Police Bureau)

Police previously said security camera footage showed the man driving a black or dark-colored 2001 to 2004 Volvo S-60. The vehicle did not have a front license plate, but its rear license plate had unknown letters or numbers.

The ballot papers were not damaged in the October 8 incident. Only three ballots were damaged in the arson in Portland, but hundreds of ballots were damaged in the attack in Vancouver.

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The exact number of ballots destroyed in Vancouver is not known at this time, but officials removed about 475 damaged ballots from the ballot box, said Greg Kimsey, the elected auditor for Washington’s Clark County.

Kendiy called the arsons a “direct attack on democracy.”

Police say a ballot box was damaged following a fire in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, October 28. (Portland Police Bureau)

Kendiy said police will increase patrols around the polls and Clark County Elections Office workers will monitor the polls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the election is over.

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On Wednesday, election staff planned to sort through the damaged ballots for information on who cast them, in the hope that those voters could be given new ballots.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.