Defiant Raffensperger Rips Russian-Linked Bomb Threats Against Polling Sites: ‘Georgia is Not Going to be Intimidated’

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) sounded the alarm on Tuesday after bomb threats made against polling sites in the state were linked to Russia.

“You know, about that Russian hoax and that bomb scare. I just want to make sure everyone understands this, that Georgia is not going to be intimidated. That Russia has just decided they picked on the wrong Georgia. They need to pick on the other one than the Black Sea because we’re not going to be intimidated,” Raffensperger told reporters at a press conference on Election Day.

The Republican election official noted that the bomb threats were not credible and had impacted between five and seven precincts in several Georgia counties.
“In the interest of public safety, you always check that out,” Raffensperger said, adding:

They’re up to mischief it seems. They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election.

The FBI linked the bomb threats to Russia and released a statement saying, “We will continue to work closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to respond to any threats to our elections and to protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. As always, we urge the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to state or local law enforcement, or submit tips to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

Bomb threats were also made in Wisconsin and Michigan and were also linked to Russia by U.S. authorities. “The threats, which experts described as evidence of increasingly aggressive actions by foreign powers trying to influence U.S. elections, were an additional burden on election officials who were already prepared Tuesday to address any normal technical problems to keep polls open,” reported the LA Times of the threats spreading across the U.S.