8 hours agoFBI: Several US polling stations received bomb threats linked to Russia
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Tuesday that five polling stations in several American states have been targeted by bomb threats, and that most threats appear to come from Russian domains. At least two polling stations in the state of Georgia were evacuated due to threats, officials said. But they [...]
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Tuesday that five polling stations in several American states have been targeted by bomb threats, and that most threats appear to come from Russian domains.
At least two polling stations in the state of Georgia were evacuated due to threats, officials said. But they were resuscitated after about 30 minutes, and now authorities are waiting for a court ruling to extend the time of voting beyond the time of the nationwide closure of the vote at 7:00 to compensate for lost time during evacuation.
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia State Secretary, said Russia is behind the bomb threats.
It looks like they're starting to do evil. They don't want us to have good, fair and correct choices and, if they come out to encourage us to fight against each other, then they count this as victory”, Raffensperger told reporters.
The FBI said in a communique that neither threat is reliable.
Georgia alone has accepted more than two dozen fake bomb threats on election day, an FBI official told Reuters.
Earlier in the day, US intelligence and security officials accused Russia and Iran of intensifying cyber attacks and de-informing campaigns, which said they were aiming to trigger divisions, while Americans vote in tense presidential elections.
Influence actors, linked to Russia, “are creating false videos and articles to undermine the legitimacy of the elections, promote fears in voters regarding the election process, and suggesting that Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences”, told the report issued on November 4th by the National Intelligence Director's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Agency for Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security.
These efforts risk inciting violence, including election officials”, these agencies said.
US intelligence agencies have been warning for months that there are efforts supported by the Russian government to influence American elections, where former Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris are facing.
Polls ahead of the elections suggested the race would be narrow, increasing tensions as voters turned to ballot boxes after a tough campaign.
Tehran and Moscow alike But they disbelieved.that they play a role in some disinformive campaign during the American presidential elections.
