DEVELOPING: Justice Department Says Georgia Poll Worker Arrested For Allegedly “Mailing A Bomb Threat”

The Justice Department said a Georgia poll worker was arrested for “mailing a letter to the Jones County Elections Superintendent threatening poll workers.”

“According to the criminal complaint, Nicholas Wimbish, 25, of Milledgeville, Georgia, was serving as a poll worker at the Jones County Elections Office on Oct. 16 when he allegedly had a verbal altercation with a voter,” the Justice Department stated in a press release.

“Later that evening, Wimbish conducted online research to determine what information about himself would be publicly available. The following day, Wimbish mailed a letter addressed to the Jones County Elections Superintendent, purportedly from a ‘Jones County Voter,'” it continued.

A Georgia poll worker was arrested today for mailing a letter to the Jones County Elections Superintendent threatening poll workers.@FBIAtlanta @FBI @TheJusticeDept

Full release: https://t.co/QXSJR5cFbZ pic.twitter.com/z7WxpWv7ry

— US Attorney MDGA (@USAO_MDGA) November 5, 2024

Per the Justice Department:

The letter was allegedly drafted to make it appear as if it came from the voter, such as by stating that Wimbish had “give[n] me hell” and that Wimbish was “conspiring votes” and “distracting voters from concentrating.” The letter threatened that Wimbish and others “should look over their shoulder,” that “I know where they go,” that “I know where they all live because I found home voting addresses for all them,” and that the “young men will get beatdown if they fight me” and “will get the treason punishment by firing squad if they fight back.” Further, the letter threatened to “rage rape” the “ladies” and warned them to “watch every move they make and look over their shoulder.” The letter concluded with a handwritten note, “PS boom toy in early vote place, cigar burning, be safe.”

Wimbish is charged with mailing a bomb threat, conveying false information about a bomb threat, mailing a threatening letter, and making false statements to the FBI. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia made the announcement.

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Georgia poll worker arrested over bomb threat as election security bolstered across U.S. https://t.co/chPj6ezBvq

— Axios (@axios) November 5, 2024

Axios reports:

The arrest comes as police step up security around the White House and Vice President Harris’ residence in D.C. and National Guard units in several states and local law enforcement agencies prepare for possible Election Day violence.

Unprecedented steps are being taken to protect election workers and ballots amid rising concern about voter intimidation and other threats, as the Proud Boys and other Trump-supporting extremist groups signal they’ll be at polling sites on Tuesday.

The Justice Department will monitor polls in multiple states for compliance with federal voting rights laws on Election Day.