Phoney bomb threats reported on Election Day in 5 U.S. battleground states

On Election Day, several polling locations in key U.S. battleground states—Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania—received false bomb threats that appeared to originate from Russian email addresses, the FBI reported Tuesday. The agency stated that "none of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far" and affirmed that safeguarding election integrity remains one of its highest priorities.

In Georgia, two polling sites in Fulton County faced brief evacuations due to these hoax threats, but reopened after about 30 minutes. Local officials are now seeking a court order to extend voting hours past the 7 p.m. statewide deadline. Georgia's Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, attributed the fake bomb threats to Russian interference, suggesting that "they don't want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election" and may be attempting to sow discord.

In response, the Russian embassy in Washington denied any involvement, calling the accusations "malicious slander" and stating, "Russia has not interfered and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States."

Officials in several other states confirmed similar threats. Ann Jacobs, chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, reported that two polling locations in Madison received fake bomb threats, though voting continued without disruption. In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office acknowledged reports of hoax threats at several polling places, noting that none were credible. A spokesperson indicated that Russian actors may be behind the threats.

Georgia alone reported over two dozen false threats, mostly in Fulton County, an area leaning Democratic. Nearby DeKalb County also faced threats at six polling sites, which led to evacuations and a request for an emergency extension of voting hours.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes disclosed that four polling sites in Navajo County, a northeastern area with significant Indigenous communities, received similar fake threats. Pennsylvania's Clearfield County also extended voting hours to 9 p.m. after a bomb threat disrupted activity at a vote-counting site. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed that multiple bomb threats had been investigated, though none were deemed credible.

The fake bomb threats represent the latest instance of alleged Russian interference in the 2024 election. Earlier in November, U.S. intelligence agencies warned that Russian actors created a misleading video showing Haitians supposedly voting illegally in Georgia, along with another fabricated video accusing a member of Kamala Harris's ticket of accepting a bribe. U.S. intelligence has also accused Russia of interfering in past elections, most notably the 2016 race between Trump and Hillary Clinton.