Bomb threats that may have come from Russia target 4 Arizona polling locations

PHOENIX — Election Day bomb threats caused confusion for Arizona voters, according to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

“The threats pertained to four specific locations in Navajo County only,” Fontes said in a 3 p.m. YouTube video.

The bomb threats were deemed to not be credible, he added.

“We have no reason to believe that any of our voters or any of our polling places are in any sort of jeopardy,” Fontes said.

Who’s behind the Election Day bomb threats?

Authorities believe the threats come from a probing attack from outside the United States.

“This comes from one of our foreign enemies, namely Russia,” Fontes said. “They’ve been busy, I suppose.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the threats appear to come from Russian email domains.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the bomb threats are coming from Russia.

“We have no confirmed attribution that the .ru email address being used in these bomb threat emails is directly from the Russian federation,” Fontes said in an 5:50 p.m. update.

What was the intention of the Election Day bomb threats?

Fontes said Arizona voters shouldn’t worry that these bomb threats were meant to sway the election.

Authorities believe the threats were meant to rile up voters’ emotions, rather than push them in a particular direction.

“We don’t see anything in the pattern or the distribution that would make us think that this is to affect a political outcome,” Fontes said.

Fear is the primary emotion those who sent the threat meant to inspire, he added.

“We do, however, believe that invoking chaos and trying to get us to rattle in our boots is the reason that they’re doing this,” Fontes said.

Arizona voters mostly having a smooth Election Day, he says

State law enforcement authorities are working with federal agents to investigate the threats, Fontes said.

“We are aware there have been threats made not just in Arizona, but Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin,” Fontes said.

However, the Election Day bomb threats are like hiccups in an otherwise smooth day, he added.

“By all accounts, Election Day is going very well across most of the state,” Fontes said. “We do have some minor issues … and some issues that we are working through right now.”

Voters can stay up-to-date on the latest breaking news on KTAR News 92.3 FM‘s live blog.