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Federal Agents Execute Search Warrant in Fulton County
The FBI conducted a dramatic raid on a Fulton County, Georgia election office on January 28, 2026, seizing approximately 700 boxes of ballots and election materials from the 2020 presidential election. The search warrant execution represents the latest development in former President Donald Trump's persistent claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread fraud.
Federal agents arrived at the Fulton County Election Hub in Atlanta with court authorization to confiscate physical ballots, ballot images, and voter rolls. The materials were loaded onto trucks for transport to the FBI Central Records Complex in Virginia for further examination. 'This is a sore loser's crusade,' said Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in response to the raid, referencing Trump's repeated attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Georgia's Central Role in Election Controversy
Fulton County has been ground zero for election conspiracy theories since Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia by just 11,779 votes in 2020. The county, which includes Atlanta and has a predominantly non-white population, overwhelmingly supported Biden with over 70% of the vote. This marked the best Democratic performance in Fulton County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.
The raid comes after years of legal battles and investigations. The Department of Justice had previously sued Fulton County Clerk Che' Alexander for failing to turn over 2020 voter records. Notably, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present at the scene, marking a departure from previous intelligence officials who had rebuffed Trump's voter fraud claims.
The Infamous Phone Call and Ongoing Investigations
The Georgia investigation traces back to the now-infamous January 2, 2021 phone call where Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to 'find 11,780 votes' to overturn Biden's victory. That call was recorded and became central to Trump's second impeachment and subsequent Fulton County indictment on racketeering charges.
Despite multiple investigations finding no evidence of widespread fraud—including then-Attorney General William Barr's declaration that no such fraud existed—Trump continues to promote these claims. 'Certain people involved in the elections six years ago will be prosecuted for what they did,' Trump recently stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Political Reactions and Legal Context
Reactions to the FBI raid fell predictably along party lines. Republican candidate Buddy Carter welcomed the investigation, saying Georgians would finally get 'long-overdue answers.' Meanwhile, election security experts note that Georgia conducted a comprehensive risk-limiting audit after the 2020 election that confirmed Biden's victory.
The FBI confirmed conducting 'court-authorized law enforcement activity' but provided no further details about the investigation's scope or timeline. This raid follows the dismissal of a racketeering case against Trump and 18 co-defendants in November 2023, though federal investigations continue.
For more background on the 2020 Georgia election results, see Wikipedia's detailed analysis. Additional reporting on the raid can be found at CNN's coverage and USA Today's report.
