On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, outside Atlanta, the FBI ran a sealed search at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operations Center. Reports suggest they hauled away hundreds of boxes of ballots and election records tied to the 2020 presidential race.
The 2020 election, Donald Trump insists, was stolen from him, even though years of recounts and court rulings have proved otherwise. The FBI said that the search was a “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”
Agents reportedly entered the warehouse-like facility in Union City, Georgia, and wrapped up the operation the same night. Fulton County officials said the warrant was aimed at getting the records related to the 2020 election. Law enforcement told Reuters that the agents wanted to seize computers and ballots.
Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory confirmed the officials have removed around 700 boxes of ballots from a secure location. Ivory also posted a video from inside the center, where she accused President Trump of trying to “create chaos,” and said that the action could erode the public trust in him and his party in this year’s midterm elections.
She said this FBI search was an “assault on voters” and county attorneys might challenge federal custody of the materials. A few days ago, Trump was in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.
There, he claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged,” and that “people will soon be prosecuted.” However, it has been confirmed by multiple recounts and a hand audit that Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia in that race.
Joe Biden has overtaken President Trump in Georgia by a current margin of 917 votes.
There are about 50,000 votes left to count. Georgia is a must-win state for Trump and has long been a Republican stronghold. pic.twitter.com/eAEUCzCWpn
— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 6, 2020
Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January 2025 and has been revisiting grievances from his 2020 loss ever since. His administration also filed a lawsuit seeking access to Fulton County’s 2020 ballots and asked a federal judge to order the county clerk to hand over physical ballots, absentee envelopes, etc.
The clerk, on the other hand, said that the ballots are sealed under state law and that the administration should seek a court order to unseal them first.
After this stall, came the criminal search warrant. Fulton County Commission Chair Rob Pitts said were notified around midday that agents were on site. There is uncertainty about where the ballots were taken or what the FBI plans to do with them.
Other leaders, like commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr., said the raid was a “full-frontal attack on democracy,” after failed attempts by the Justice Department to obtain the records through civil litigation.
Things got worse as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appeared on site. The nation’s top intelligence officer usually isn’t at a domestic law-enforcement search. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner thus asked if Gabbard is non-partisan.
Why is Tulsi Gabbard at an FBI raid on an election office in Fulton County? pic.twitter.com/46Shpciw08
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) January 29, 2026
In 2020, Trump urged state officials to “find” Georgia votes to reverse his defeat. A racketeering case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis later collapsed, too. And for that, Trump is now seeking $6.2 million in legal fees. The Trump Justice Department has also sued other states over voter data, including one this week in Oregon.
