Trump 2020 vote fraud claims: FBI searches Atlanta election office, calls it ‘court-authorised law enforcement activity’

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents searched an election office in Georgia’s Fulton County outside Atlanta on Wednesday as part of an investigation connected to US President Donald Trump’s unfounded assertions that widespread voter fraud caused his loss in the 2020 election.

The FBI stated agents carried out a warrant at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Centre in Union City, a large warehouse-style site opened by state officials in 2023, describing the action as a “court-authorized law enforcement activity", according to Reuters.

The Fulton County government said in a brief statement that the warrant “sought a number of records related to 2020 elections.” The search marked the latest move by Trump’s administration to use the Justice Department against individuals he views as adversaries or to step into cases he believes were handled unjustly.

According to a law enforcement official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, FBI agents were seeking to confiscate computers and ballots they believed were stored at the facility as part of a probe into possible election interference.

A law enforcement official stated the search was completed Wednesday night.

Speaking separately to reporters, Ivory described the federal action as “an assault on voters” and said local officials were weighing possible legal steps to halt it. “We know in America right now it does not even matter if what you are saying is the right thing. If our president wants to bring in the forces, he will,” Ivory stated.

Democrat Joe Biden secured Georgia and defeated Republican Donald Trump, who was running for reelection in 2020. Trump won the 2024 election and returned to the White House for a second term last year.

Meanwhile, Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA, said Trump’s fixation is not unusual on its own but noted the difference is the power he holds. “The man has obsessions, as do a fair number of people, but he's the only one who has the full power of the United States behind him,” Hasen said, as per AP.

Hasen and other observers said Trump’s decision to use the FBI to chase his grievances over the 2020 election reflects a broader pattern in which the president has turned the federal government into a vehicle for personal retribution.