FBI: Several US polling stations received bomb threats originating in Russia

The FBI said Tuesday afternoon that it is aware of bomb threats to polling places in several states, many of which, they said, appear to have originated from Russian email domains.

The bureau said in a statement that none of the threats have been determined to be credible so far.

“Election integrity is among the FBI’s highest priorities,” the statement said.

“We will continue to work closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to respond to any threats to our elections and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote.”

Russia has tried to interfere in the US election, but the country’s federal law enforcement and election security agencies highlighted two new examples of Russian election disinformation in the run-up to Election Day, highlighting efforts by foreign actors to cast doubt on the US voting process and warning that efforts risk inciting violence against election officials.

Federal officials pointed to a recent article posted by Russian actors falsely claiming that U.S. officials in all presidential states were orchestrating a plan to commit fraud, as well as a video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual who alleged election fraud in Arizona.

U.S. intelligence finds that Russia-linked influencers “are producing videos and creating false articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters about the election process, and suggest that Americans are using violence against each other because of political preferences” – the statement released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials.”

The Russian embassy called the officials’ announcement “baseless” in an emailed statement, saying Russia “has not and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States.”

Federal officials warned that Russia is likely to release additional “produced content” on Election Day and poses the “most active threat” when it comes to foreign election influence. The statement also noted that Iran remains a “significant foreign influence threat to US elections.”

The effort described by federal officials is part of a far-reaching operation by Russia designed to undermine confidence in the election process and sow discord among American voters. Intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia, which also interfered on behalf of Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, still favors the Republican candidate and is likely to continue its influence operations beyond Election Day.

In addition to manufactured videos aimed at promoting disinformation, US officials have also accused Russian state media of a covert, multimillion-dollar operation to spread pro-Russian content to US audiences and seized dozens of internet domains they said promoted propaganda.

In their statement, the officials also drew attention to Iran’s efforts to interfere in the election, which include a hacking and leaking operation designed to damage Trump’s candidacy. The Justice Department in September charged three Iranian hackers in the effort.

Iranian actors have also created fake news sites and impersonated activists online to try to sway voters, according to analysts at Microsoft. The tech giant said last month that Iranian actors suspected of sending emails aimed at intimidating US voters in 2020 have been monitoring election-related websites and mainstream media outlets, raising concerns they could be preparing for another scheme this year. year.

The Arizona video, promoted on social media by Russian actors on Monday, purportedly shows an anonymous whistleblower uncovering an election fraud scheme. Federal officials said the Arizona Secretary of State’s office had already dismissed the content of the video.