Fulton County leaders react to FBI raid at election center near Atlanta

ATLANTA - Fulton County commissioners and other representatives held a briefing outside the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center on Wednesday afternoon, where District 4 Commissioner Mo Ivory said federal agents came to retrieve 700 boxes of records related to the 2020 election in Fulton County. Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chair Rob Pitts said he does not know what the FBI plans to do with the materials or where they will be taken. 

The backstory:

Agents descended on the center Wednesday afternoon to execute a search warrant to seize records and ballots related to the 2020 election, Fulton County officials confirmed. 

The county has been at the center of an ongoing legal battle related to the election. President Donald Trump has claimed he won the state and that election interference happened, but state and local leaders deny that. 

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Dig deeper:

Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chair Rob Pitts and Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections Chair Sherri Allen spoke outside the election center on Wednesday night, detailing what they knew about the seizure.

Pitts, who was elected in 2017, explained that he received a call around 12:30 p.m. that FBI agents were at the facility to search it.

Pitts and other commissioners have said that the initial warrant federal agents obtained was incorrect and that a judge had to correct the order before they could search the facility. 

Both Pitts said they do not know where the FBI is taking the boxes or what they will do with them. 

"We can no longer, and I can no longer, as the chair of this board, satisfy not only the citizens of Atlanta but the citizens of the world that those ballots are still secure," Pitts said. 

When asked about concerns regarding the raid, Allen said that those concerns will be presented in court, as the seizure is part of a legal matter. 

She also said that Fulton County had prior plans to transfer the materials to the Department of Justice on Feb. 9 during a scheduled court hearing overseen by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney.

Pitts and Allen both maintained that Fulton County conducted fair and transparent elections. 

What they're saying:

Fulton County commissioners and state leaders gathered outside the center while the raid was still underway earlier in the day to discuss the raid and what led up to it.

District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the sealed criminal warrant comes after failed attempts by the Department of Justice to subpoena the ballots through civil lawsuits. 

"This is nothing but sowing the seeds of distrust. This is a full-frontal attack on democracy. This is a code red in America, in Fulton County," Arrington said.

The ballots have been sealed under court order in a civil trial, and Commissioner Arrington said one of the primary concerns now that they are being seized is what will happen to them once they are out of Fulton County's custody.

Ivory said the county's lawyers are working to prevent the DOJ from retaining custody of the records. According to the commissioners, the FBI took 700 boxes of documents from the center related to the 2020 election. 

Ivory said the raid is a "scare tactic" intended to intimidate voters, especially ahead of the upcoming general primary election in May and the general election in November.

"Instead of taking care of people dying in the streets in Minnesota, they are here in Fulton County trying to get ballots from 2020 that have been in storage for now 6 years from when it was found that there were no problems with the 2020 election," Ivory said. 

"The best thing you can do as a voter, the best thing I can do as a voter, what we all can do as a voter is protect your own vote," Ivory continued.

Ivory emphasized that all voters should turn out to vote, no matter who they are voting for, despite this raid.

"We will not be deterred. We will work together in Fulton County, we will work together with our state partners, and we will move forward, and we will be here protecting your right to vote in Fulton County," Ivory said.

Arrington called the raid "retribution" because Fulton County did not vote for President Trump in 2020.

Rep. Saira Draper (D-90) said Fulton County, a democratic county, is being targeted by the Trump administration because it is Georgia's largest county and the home of Atlanta. 

What's next:

Officials said that Fulton County attorneys are working to determine the next steps for the county. There is ongoing litigation related to the matter and Allen said it is up to county counsel going forward. 

What we don't know:

Given that the criminal search warrant is under seal, it is unclear who the target of the criminal investigation is or what exactly is being taken.

It is unclear what the next steps are or what will happen now that the records are out of Fulton County's custody.

Officials did not touch on the probable cause found, which is required when a search warrant is approved.

FBI Atlanta told FOX 5 they can not comment on the sealed warrant.