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FBI says Russia-linked hoax bomb threats target polling places
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FBI says Russia-linked hoax bomb threats target polling places

US voters head to polling stations across the country to vote in the presidential election (Photo: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Fake bomb threats revealed in many cases Russian email domains targeted polling places in various precincts US states The FBI said Tuesday.

“So far, none of the threats have been determined to be credible.” FBI He added in a statement that election integrity is among the bureau’s highest priorities.

At least two polling stations targeted by hoax bomb threats were briefly evacuated Tuesday in the election battleground state of Georgia.

Those two Fulton County locations reopened about 30 minutes later, and the county is seeking a court order to extend voting hours at the location to the statewide 7 p.m. time, officials said.

Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger blamed Russian intervention for the incident. Election Day bomb hoaxes.

“It looks like they’re up to mischief. They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can make us 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.

The FBI did not provide details on which states the threats reached, but an official said: Reuters He said Georgia alone had more than two dozen, with most of those occurring in Fulton County.

A senior official in Raffensperger’s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity and speaking freely, said the bomb hoaxes in Georgia were sent from email addresses used by Russians who tried to interfere in previous U.S. elections.

The threats were sent to US media and two polling locations, the official said. “It’s probably Russia,” the official said.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump They are locked in a tight race to win the White House. Opinion polls show the contest is very close to being called.

The fake bomb threats mark the latest in a series of examples of alleged Russian meddling in the 2024 election.

On November 1, U.S. intelligence officials warned that Russian actors had produced a video showing Haitians voting illegally in Georgia. Intelligence officials also found that the Russians created a separate fake video falsely implicating someone affiliated with the terrorist organization. Harris presidential penalty for taking a bribe from an artist.

US intelligence officials have also accused Russia of interfering in previous US presidential elections, particularly the 2016 race that Trump won against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

(Reuters)