Georgia Poll Worker Arrested for Threatening To Bomb Election Officials
Georgia poll worker Nicholas Wimbish has been charged with mailing a bomb threat to election officials and making false statements to the FBI . If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Wimbish, 25, from Milledgeville, was arrested after allegedly making threats to target local election officials with explosives, in a letter written to appear as if it came from a voter he had a verbal altercation with the previous day, according to a report by the Department of Justice ( DOJ ).
Authorities say Wimbish was working as a poll worker at the Jones County Elections Office on October 16 when he allegedly had a heated exchange of words with the voter.
According to the criminal complaint, Wimbish then researched online to find out publicly available information about himself. The next day, he mailed a letter to the Jones County Elections Superintendent, purportedly from a "Jones County voter."
Newsweek contacted the Jones County Election Superintendent outside of working hours via email on Tuesday for comment.
In the letter, Wimbish allegedly threatened physical and sexual violence to fellow poll workers before concluding with a bomb threat.
Information released by the DOJ's Office of Public Affairs states that the letter was written to make it appear as if it came from the voter Wimbish had the verbal altercation with. The letter stated that Wimbish had "give[n] me hell" and was "conspiring votes" and "distracting voters from concentrating."
The letter warned poll workers they "should look over their shoulder" and "I know where they all live because I found home voting addresses for all them...Young men will get beatdown if they fight me [and] get the treason punishment by firing squad if they fight back."
Warnings in the letter then became more sinister as the letter writer threatened to "rage rape " female poll workers and cautioned them to "watch every move they make and look over their shoulder", before concluding with a bomb threat in a handwritten note, written in a childish scrawl, saying: "PS boom toy in early vote place, cigar burning, be safe."
Wimbish has been charged with mailing a bomb threat, conveying false information about a bomb threat, mailing a threatening letter, and making false statements to the FBI, in an announcement made by 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.
On what appears to be his X, formerly Twitter , profile , Wimbish describes himself as a "graduate student, outspoken, avid traveler, follower of Christ, and loyal friend."
The FBI Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case, part of the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force, which coordinates with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and works closely with election officials and advocacy groups to identify and prosecute those who threaten election workers.
Newsweek contacted the FBI Atlanta division on Tuesday via email for comment.
The task force also aims to protect voting rights and ensure that election officials can do their jobs without fear of harassment or violence, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the election process.
It comprises members from multiple agencies within the Department of Justice, including the Criminal Division, Civil Rights Division, and the FBI, as well as partners from the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ). It was launched in 2021 in a statement by the Justice Department which said in part:
"In recent months, there has been a significant increase in the threat of violence against Americans who administer free and fair elections throughout our Nation. As the Attorney General stated two weeks ago: There are many things that are open to debate in America. But the right of all eligible citizens to vote is not one of them.
"The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow. For this vital right to be effective, election officials must be permitted to do their jobs free from improper partisan influence, physical threats, or any other conduct designed to intimidate. The Department of Justice has a long history of protecting every American's right to vote, and will continue to do so."
