Bomb threats, a security scare at the Capitol and fake videos from Russia disrupt US election

There have been multiple attempts to keep Americans from voting and undermine trust in the election process – and authorities know who’s behind it.

Videos spreading across social media warning Americans to avoid polling places because of planned terror attacks are fake and the handiwork of Russia, the FBI has revealed.

The dodgy clips bear the FBI’s logo and branding, as well as seemingly authentic news broadcasts from CNN and Fox News, urging people not to vote in person today.

“The fabricated news clip reports falsely that the FBI purportedly stated that Americans should ‘vote remotely’ due to a high terror threat at polling stations,” a spokesperson said.

“This video is not authentic and does not accurately represent the current threat posture or polling location safety.”

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The account Antibot4Navalny is intercepting and exposing the flood of Russian-made fake videos.

A second video contained a faked FBI press release claiming five prisons in the key swing states of Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania had rigged the votes of inmates in collusion with the Democratic Party.

“This video is also not authentic, and its contents are false,” the FBI said in a statement.

Those two clips are among dozens that have flooded social media in the past 24 hours, particularly X, formerly Twitter.

The popular account Antibot4Navalny, which works to fight Russian misinformation, is intercepting and exposing many of them.

The account Antibot4Navalny is intercepting and exposing the flood of Russian-made fake videos.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly told NBC the videos were produced by Russia.

“This is all about spewing disinformation designed to undermine trust in our elections and sow partisan discord. We cannot allow our foreign adversaries to have a vote in our democracy,” Ms Easterly said.

Authorities also believe a series of bomb threats sent via email to voting centres across “multiple states”, forcing their temporary closures, originated in Moscow.

Australian link to ‘disruptive’ videos

A right wing social media influencer admitted he was paid to post a now-debunked video purporting to show a Haitian migrant voting multiple times for Ms Harris.

And he claims a notorious Australian figure orchestrated the dodgy deal.

A video purporting to show migrants illegally voting for Kamala Harris is a fake.

In an interview with CNN, the man who posts on X under the handle AlphaFox78 to more than 650,000 followers, said he received $100 in exchange for uploading the clip.

“I don’t have any idea where it came from or anything – I’m just the guy who shared it,” he said.

Bomb threats at polling places

Meanwhile, the FBI and intelligence authorities are investigating bomb threats in “multiple” states that forced evacuations and temporary closures, disrupting voting.

“The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” FBI spokesperson Savannah Syms said in a statement.

“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.”

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the threats targeting polling places in his state were “of Russian origin”.

“They’re up to mischief, it seems,” Mr Raffensperger said. “They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election.

“They think they can get us to fight among ourselves. They can count that as a victory. That’s the Russians. They’re not our friends.”

Security scare at US Capitol

Police arrested a man who tried to enter the US Capitol in Washington DC carrying a backpack doused in petrol and containing a blow torch, flare gun and 25-page manifesto.

He entered the south entrance of the Capitol’s visitor centre at about midday local time and tried to pass security screening.

Thomas Manger, the chief of the Capitol Police, said “something in the shape of a firearm” was visible as his bag was scanned, in addition to “two bottles”.

A security guard noticed “the faint odour of gasoline” and the smell became “much stronger” as he neared the man’s backpack, Mr Manger said.

The security scare saw the Capitol closed off to visitors. Picture: AFP

It’s believed the bottles contained petrol but were leaking. A lighter, flare gun and blow torch were found, alongside “papers” the man said he was delivering.

Fox News described the documents as a 25-page long political “manifesto”.

The Capitol was closed to visitors as a result of the scare.

Trump peddles baseless claims

Police in Philadelphia have refuted claims made by Mr Trump that “massive cheating” was occurring at polling places in the Pennsylvania capital.

“A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,” he wrote on his Truth social media network just before 5pm. “Law enforcement coming!!!”

Authorities say there is no truth to the claims.

The Philadelphia Police Department told CNN it had no idea what he was referring to and had received no reports about any issues.

In September while speaking at a campaign rally in the city, Mr Trump said “they cheat in this state, especially in Philadelphia” without providing any specifics.