FBI Confirms Russian-Originated Bomb Threat Hoaxes Targeted U.S. Polling Stations

A series of bomb threats made at polling stations across the United States have been traced back to Russia, the FBI confirmed Tuesday. At least two polling sites in Georgia, a critical battleground state, were among those targeted, leading to temporary evacuations before officials declared the threats to be hoaxes.

Polling resumed about 30 minutes later, with election officials attributing the threats to Russian agents.

Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger commented on the situation, noting that the intent behind the threats appeared to be disruption and to undermine election integrity. “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 said.

He also highlighted a recent cyber-attack against Georgia’s voter absentee ballot request page in mid-October, which involved 42,000 denial-of-service pings originating from Russia.

The FBI confirmed it was aware of these non-credible bomb threats made at polling sites in multiple states, reportedly originating from Russian email domains. Similar threats have also impacted vital states such as Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

In addition to the bomb threats, the FBI cautioned the public about two new disinformation videos circulating online. One falsely claimed a high terror threat, urging Americans to “vote remotely,” while the other featured a fabricated press release purporting to expose rigged voting among inmates in five prisons.

Officials expect such disinformation tactics to escalate as Election Day progresses, aiming to disrupt the electoral process and sow division among American voters.