Alex Kaplan at MMFA:

Figures involved in promoting false claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential election have hailed the FBI’s January 28 raid and seizure of materials from an election center in Fulton County, Georgia. These figures have said on podcasts, blogs, and social media that they are “over the moon” about the raid, calling it “very exciting,” “a victory,” “a great relief,” and “vindication.” Others declared that it’s “about time” the Trump administration took such action, claiming it will “hopefully … get to the truth” and is “exactly what” they previously asked President Donald Trump to do.

FBI raids Fulton County election center regarding 2020 election and Trump calls for nationalizing elections afterwards, echoing calls from election deniers

On January 28, the FBI carried out a search warrant related to the 2020 presidential election at Fulton County’s election office. According to The Guardian, the warrant “sought all ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton county, tabulator tapes, ballot images and voter rolls.” MS NOW reported that the raid came after “the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office was forced out … after questioning the Justice Department’s renewed push to probe Fulton County’s role in the 2020 election.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who is reportedly “leading the administration’s effort to re-examine the election and look for potential crimes,” was on-site during the search, and brokered a call between Trump and FBI agents on the ground. [The Guardian, 1/28/26; MS NOW, 1/30/26; The Wall Street Journal, 1/29/26; The New York Times, 2/2/26]

The FBI's raid comes weeks after the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who MAGA influencers suggested was linked to their conspiracy theories. Election deniers have baselessly claimed for years that Venezuela was involved in supposed 2020 election fraud. [Media Matters, 1/5/26; The New York Times, 11/19/20]

In an interview after the Fulton County raid, Trump said he wants Republicans to “nationalize the voting.” During an interview with podcast host and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Trump said, “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places.’ The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” He also invoked the raid, saying, “We have states that are so crooked, and they’re counting votes — we have states that I won that show I didn’t win. Now you’re going see something in Georgia where they were able to get with a court order, the ballots, you’re going to see some interesting things.” [NBC News, 2/2/26]

Right-wing figures and Trump allies, including those who have spread claims of election fraud, have repeatedly urged Trump to declare a “national emergency” to enforce his preferred election policies. Some of these figures have suggested that the president use “plenary authority” or claimed to be “encouraging” Trump to declare a national emergency “to make sure that the elections in 2026 are secure.” One of those figures, Heather Honey, has since been appointed deputy assistant secretary for election integrity at the Department of Homeland Security. Another figure, Jerome Corsi, has claimed for months that he was involved in efforts to craft an upcoming Trump executive order to “declare a national security emergency” that would “be implemented for the 2026 elections.” [Media Matters, 10/28/25]