(Washington) The authorities of the Georgia county targeted last week by a search demanded on Wednesday the return of “all documents from the 2020 election confiscated by the FBI”, claiming to want to prevent a “takeover” of the next polls by the Trump administration.
Published at
Fulton County, in Atlanta, capital of the state of Georgia (southeast), is at the heart of unfounded accusations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election launched by Donald Trump.
On January 28, agents of the FBI, the federal law enforcement agency, removed 700 boxes of election documents from the Fulton elections center without allowing local authorities to make copies.
The search warrant, signed by a federal judge, authorized the seizure of all 2020 ballots, all images of these ballots taken during the count, as well as the county’s electoral lists for this election.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, seen at the scene, later confirmed her presence in a letter to Congress, justifying it with a demand from President Donald Trump and her responsibilities to combat foreign electoral interference.
Fulton County filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to “obtain the return of all 2020 election documents confiscated by the FBI last week,” announced its president, Robb Pitts, during a press conference.
“We will fight using all means against those who want to take control of our elections. Our Constitution is at stake,” he said.
In the United States, electoral operations are managed by the states, not the federal government.
But Donald Trump, faced with the prospect of a defeat for his Republican Party in the mid-term legislative elections in November, suggested on Monday a “nationalization of the vote” by the federal authorities.
“Again, it’s not just about Fulton County, it’s about elections across Georgia and across the country,” Robb Pitts said.
County elections officials “are currently focused on delivering free and fair elections in 2026, as required by law, and we must be able to do this without interference or threats of federal takeover,” he insisted.
Donald Trump was indicted in 2023 by federal and Georgia courts for illegal attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden.
These prosecutions were dropped following his re-election in 2024, but he recently reiterated his desire to take revenge on the officials who initiated them.
