JUST IN: ‘Free Gaza’ Message Linked To Ballot Drop Box Fires
Investigators believe that a number of ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon that were set on fire earlier this week may have been burned by a pro-Palestine extremist, as investigators uncovered a note reading, “ALL DROP BOXES WILL BURN. FREE GAZA,” according to a report from the New York Post.
Between 3 and 4 a.m. local time this past Monday, fires caused by “incendiary devices” were discovered in drop boxes in Vancouver, Washington and nearby Portland, Oregon. A built-in fire suppressant saved the majority of ballots at the Portland location, though hundreds of ballots were torched when a drop box was completely engulfed in flames at the Vancouver location.
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Federal investigators with the FBI are now leading the investigation into the two fires, which is believed to be linked to another attempted arson attack in Vancouver earlier this month.
Voters who were potentially affected in the fires have been instructed to track their ballots online and to inform their local auditor’s office if a replacement ballot is required.
While officials have largely remained quiet on the details of the investigation, an election official with knowledge of the investigation told the New York Post that a letter was discovered in a ballot box located not far from the Vancouver box that was targeted. According to the source, investigators recovered a white piece of paper that had been folded in half and deposited into the box.
The letter was found just a few hours after the fires were extinguished in a separate drop box located about 15 minutes away.
It is unconfirmed whether the letter came from the same suspect, though the New York Times is reporting that all three of the incendiary devices had the message “Free Gaza” written on them.
“Um, I’m not gonna have a comment on that at this time,” Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey told the New York Post when asked about the political letter. The election official told the outlet that officials are keeping quiet on the investigation’s findings over fears that voters will not trust drop boxes over the last week of the election. All elections in Washington and Oregon are conducted through mail-in voting.
Clark County officials have further announced that all drop boxes in the states will be monitored going forward, while investigators have released an image of the suspect’s car.
The Vancouver location could have an impact on the closely watched Congressional race between U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-VA) and special forces veteran Joe Kent, who previously unseated U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), who was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. The race between Perez and Kent is expected to go down to the wire.