Updated January 29, 2026 at 7:12 PM EST
The FBI on Wednesday executed a search warrant at the election center in Georgia's Fulton County, seeking ballots and other records from the 2020 election.
President Trump falsely claims he won the 2020 election. He narrowly lost Georgia that year, by just under 12,000 votes, and has repeatedly pushed baseless claims about how the state's election was conducted.
The search warrant sought all "physical ballots from the 2020 General Election in Fulton County," among other records, according to a copy of the warrant obtained by NPR.
The FBI would only say it was executing a "court authorized law enforcement action" at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, which is located just outside of Atlanta. But last month the Department of Justice announced it's suing Fulton County for records related to the 2020 election.
In its complaint against Fulton County, the DOJ cited efforts by the Georgia State Election Board to obtain 2020 election materials from the county.
On Oct. 30, 2025, the complaint says, the U.S. attorney general sent a letter to the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections "demanding 'all records in your possession responsive to the recent subpoena issued to your office by the State Election Board.' "
A Fulton County judge has denied a request by the county to block that subpoena.
Many election experts have expressed alarm about the FBI action in Fulton County. Many also noted the presence at the raid of Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence.
In a statement to NPR on Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: "President Trump and his entire team are committed to ensuring a U.S. election can never, ever be rigged again. Director Gabbard is playing a key lead role in this important effort."
Since the 2020 election, Fulton County has been at the center of baseless claims of election fraud by Trump and others. A number of audits and reviews have affirmed the results.
Last week, while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump said that "people will soon be prosecuted for what they did," regarding the 2020 election.
In November the sweeping election interference case against Trump and allies was dismissed by a Fulton County judge.
Copyright 2026 NPR
