Evacuations

Bomb threat at US polling stations: lead to Russians?

Hustle and bustle at a polling station in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia

(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

Bomb threats have temporarily disrupted voting in several US states. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sees a lead to Russia.

The threats were initially directed at five to seven polling stations in the state of Georgia, which were located in different districts, revealed election director Brad Raffensperger according to US media. 

(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

Voting extended
A representative of the election authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, said that polling stations there were briefly closed while the threats were investigated. People in polling places were evacuated. The bomb threats eventually led to voting being extended, but only for the half hour that voting was not possible.

(Bild: AFP/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)

"In the interest of public safety, we always check, and we will continue to be very responsible when we hear about things like this," Raffensperger said.

The state's Republican interior secretary said the threats were sent from Russia, which the FBI confirmed.

"Multiple bomb threats"
According to the FBI, many of the bomb threats were apparently received in the form of emails from Russia. So far, however, none of them have been credible, explained FBI spokeswoman Savannah Syms. 

The FBI later added that it was also aware of other threats. There were also such reports in the state of Pennsylvania. "The FBI is aware of bomb threats against polling places in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains," it said. 

The FBI has set up a national election command post in Washington to analyze potential threats to the election process around the clock.

Fear of riots
The outcome of the election was not only awaited with excitement, but also with concern about possible riots. Security measures were stepped up throughout the country - but initially there were only isolated incidents. 

At the visitor center of the US Capitol in Washington, police arrested a man who smelled of gasoline and was carrying a flare gun. This was announced by the Capitol Police on Platform X. The man was noticed at the security checkpoint.