Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The FBI raided Fulton County’s elections warehouse and took its 2020 ballots, ballot images and voter rolls
Agents executed a search warrant on January 28, 2026, a week after Trump said those involved in 2020 “will soon be prosecuted.” A judge let the government keep the ballots for now.
What happened
On January 28, 2026, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operations Center in Union City, Georgia, and loaded boxes of election records onto trucks. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas signed the order, which authorized seizure of every physical ballot from the 2020 election, all ballot images and the county’s 2020 voter rolls. The AP put the haul at more than 600 boxes.
The raid followed a December 2025 Justice Department lawsuit seeking the records and a January 21 Trump speech at Davos saying those involved in 2020 “will soon be prosecuted.” Two recounts and multiple audits had affirmed Biden’s win in Fulton County. County officials said they were complying. Commission Chair Robb Pitts said he could no longer guarantee the ballots’ security.
Fulton County sued for the return of its property. On May 6, 2026, Judge J.P. Boulee ruled the government could keep the ballots for now. He called the raid “unprecedented” but found no interference with elections. The county said it would appeal to the Eleventh Circuit. No charges have been reported.
Who benefited
Trump obtained federal custody of the physical evidence from the county at the center of his stolen-election claims, in an election year. Georgia Republicans running for Senate used the raid as proof he “was right in 2020.” FBI Director Kash Patel delivered on a core demand of the president’s base.
Who wanted something
Trump had demanded prosecutions a week earlier. Patel’s FBI and Harmeet Dhillon’s Civil Rights Division, which had already sued for the records, carried out and backed the seizure. The Carter Center called the raid an attempt “to sow doubt in election integrity.”
Who lost out
Fulton County’s election office and its voters saw their 2020 records leave local custody with no accounting of where they went. Election workers already targeted by threats since 2020 were affected. Public confidence in the 2026 midterms took the damage the Carter Center and state officials said the raid was designed to cause.
Why it matters
Federal agents seized a county’s ballots from a five-year-old election the president lost, on claims that courts and audits had rejected, days after he promised prosecutions. A federal judge has let the government keep them. The precedent is that the federal executive can take election records when its leader disputes the result.
Sources Georgia RecorderMichigan Department of Attorney General (primary)Associated Press (via WAVY)CNN (via KRDO)