A series of fake bomb threats targeting polling places in the Philadelphia-area and several other states on Election Day appear to be from Russia, officials said.
The Government Services Center on 601 Westtown Road in West Chester, Pennsylvania, was evacuated Tuesday night due to a bomb threat, according to Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell.
There was a bomb threat to the Government Services Center in West Chester, PA. It's being evacuated. Voter Services is located there, and in-person ballots are delivered after 8 pm. Mail-in ballots are canvassed and tabulated at a different location. I will update shortly.
— Josh Maxwell (@maxwelljosh) November 6, 2024
After the center was searched by dogs, officials determined the threat was unfounded.
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"I'm happy to say that the building is safe, that the threat appears to be dubious, and we are functioning just like we planned," Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said during a Tuesday night press conference.
Voting hours at two neighboring polling places at West Chester Seventh-day Adventist Church and Glen Acres Elementary School were extended to 10 p.m. for the impacted voters, following an order from a judge.
Barrena-Sarobe said that the incident appeared to be part of a series of fake bomb threats at polling places at swing states across the country. An FBI spokesperson said many of the threats appear to have originated from Russian email domains and none of the threats appear to be credible.
Decision 2024
“This appears to be overseas in origin," Barrena-Sarobe said. “I know they’re working off an idea that some of the IP addresses are coming from Russia. And what is clear from all the recent news reports and information from the FBI is that this is part of a consistent, coordinated attempt to call in bomb threats to swing states in order to disrupt the election.”
The threats impacted polling places in Philadelphia as well, officials said.
Philadelphia police said they responded to bomb threats at the following locations between 6:43 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. on Tuesday:
- The 900 block of South 7th Street
- The 1000th block of South 4th Street
- The 400 block of Queen Street
- The 700 block of Catharine Street
- The 1100 block of Catharine Street
- The 200 block of Washington Avenue
- The 900 block of Federal Street
- The 1200 block of Wharton Street
- The 1200 block of Carpenter Street
- The 1000th block of East Erie Avenue
Police said all of the locations were searched by K-9 units and had negative results.
During a Tuesday night press conference, District Attorney Larry Krasner said there were also fake bomb threats at polling places on 1013 Elsworth Street and 66th Street and Chester Avenue in Philadelphia.
Krasner said both threats were unfounded. During one of the incidents, a man walked into a polling place and made a verbal threat but was later detained, according to Krasner.
If you have information on any of the threats, please call Philadelphia police at 215-686-3013. You can also submit an anonymous tip by calling or texting 215-686-TIPS (8477).
