- - Ossoff calls FBI raid in Atlanta 'sore loser's crusade.' What we know

Irene Wright, USA TODAY January 29, 2026 at 12:24 AM

9

Update: This story has been to include a statement from Senator Raphael Warnock and Burt Jones.

Investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigations raided an elections facility in Atlanta Wednesday in a supposed search for materials related to the 2020 election.

The Fulton County Election Hub, located in Union City just south of Atlanta, has been at the center of election denial claims and part of a sweeping indictment of President Trump and others that was ultimately dropped.

Here's what we know so far.

FBI raids Atlanta election facility

A member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Evidence Response Team puts up crime scene tape outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center after the FBI executed a search warrant there in relation to the 2020 election, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter, in Union City, Georgia, U.S. January 28, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

Fulton County Court Clerk Che' Alexander told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a "large number of federal agents" arrived Wednesday afternoon at the facility.

"The FBI agents are here to get the 2020 ballots," Alexander told the outlet. "They're all here — trucks, everything."

An executive assistant for Alexander told the Georgia Recorder the clerk's office was "aware of the ongoing law enforcement activity involving the FBI at the Fulton County warehouse," and that they were unaware of any activities in any other locations.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so.

PHOTOS: @FOX5Atlanta confirms the FBI is executing a sealed search warrant at Fulton Co. election facility. Local and State leaders are arriving to observe. We can see FBI agents, large box trucks, and placards that read “Evidence Response Team”. Crime scene tape has been put up. pic.twitter.com/LlTWI2rBTZ

— Billy Heath III (@BillyHeathFOX5) January 28, 2026

Investigators arrived with a court order, signed by Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas, to seize physical ballots, ballot images and voter rolls from the 2020 election in Fulton County, according to the order read by staff at the Recorder.

The FBI confirmed to USA Today agents were "conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity," but declined to provide further information.

Why did the FBI raid the election facility in Fulton County?

Federal officials have not confirmed the exact nature of the raid on Wednesday, but Fulton County has long been the focus of the president's claim of election fraud during the 2020 election.

To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so.

.@FBI command center is set up outside Fulton County Elections warehouse in Union City. @FBI Deputy Director is on the ground with agents and their crime scene folks. pic.twitter.com/LYOSrH1Umf

— Cody Alcorn (@CodyAlcorn) January 28, 2026

The Fulton County District Attorney's Office, led by Fani Willis, indicted Trump and 18 others on racketeering charges for a multi-part conspiracy to overturn Biden's victory in Georgia in 2020.

Prosecutors alleged Trump called election officials in Georgia to "find" 11,780 votes, the number needed for Trump to win Georgia. They also said Trump was planning to submit a slate of electors that would give Trump the victory and that his team wanted to access voting machine data.

The indictment was ultimately dismissed in November, and attorneys for Trump requested $6.2 million for legal fees in December, the first of his co-defendants to take advantage of a new Georgia law.

Also in December, the Department of Justice sued the Fulton County Clerk of Courts, Che' Alexander for failing to turn over voter records from 2020. The Attorney General sent a letter in October demanding "all records in your possession responsive to the recent subpoena issues to your office by the State Election Board," according to the lawsuit. Follow-up letters were left unanswered.

On Jan. 5, Alexander filed a motion to dismiss the claim.

Georgia lawmakers respond to raid

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat hoping to keep his seat in the midterm elections in November, responded to news of the raid on X.

"After losing Georgia in 2020, Donald Trump demanded state officials 'find' votes to change the outcome, tried to use DOJ to overturn it, and spread conspiracy theories that led to the Jan. 6 sacking of the U.S. Capitol," he said in a statement. "I suspect today's raid is a continuation of this sore loser's crusade, despite repeated audits and independent reviews confirming that Donald Trump was indeed defeated."

Buddy Carter, a Republican running against Ossoff in November, said on X the raid meant "Georgians are about to get some long-overdue answers and learn just how right President Trump was in 2020."

Trump himself spoke about about the 2020 election again at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, saying those involved "will soon be prosecuted for what they did."

Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock also released a statement.

"The FBI should be focused on going after violent criminals, not carrying out political errands for a vengeful President," Warnock said. "Republicans and Democrats agree: the 2020 elections were accurate and secure. End of story."

Burt Jones, a Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate, said in a post on X "Fulton County Elections couldn't run a bake sale."

"And unfortunately, our Secretary of State hasn't fixed the corruption and our Attorney General hasn't prosecuted it. Today is an important step toward accountability," Jones said.

Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Federal investigators raid election facility in Atlanta. What we know

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”