On the same day that two ballot boxes were attacked in Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon, the Department of Homeland Security sent out a bulletin warning law enforcement about threats of violence to election officials, specific groups of people and election infrastructure based on misinformation and disinformation about election fraud.
The bulletin, obtained by ABC News, warns of “threat actors” using false claims of election fraud to promote violence.
“Some individuals online, many in forums frequented by domestic violent extremists (DVEs), are posting threats of violence toward election officials or infrastructure to prevent perceived fraud or to retaliate against it,” the bulletin reads.
It goes on to note that the misinformation and disinformation these threats are based on are linked to “historical narratives about election fraud linked to the use of mail-in ballots or electronic voting machines.”
Oregon and Washington are two of the eight states that hold all elections by mail.
“Some individuals motivated by this narrative have stated their intent online to intimidate voters or elections staff through surveillance of election infrastructure or personnel, including by armed individuals. Some of these online users have encouraged violence against ideological opponents related to the use of mail-in voting while others promoted methods of sabotaging ballot drop boxes,” the bulletin reads.
It goes on to say the threats are also being directed at migrants and other specific groups of people.
“Individuals in these online forums have claimed the vote count may be falsely inflated by certain groups of people—focusing primarily on undocumented migrants and, to a lesser extent, convicted felons and people voting in place of a deceased relative—and have advocated for violence against these groups,” the bulletin reads.