FBI Executes Search at Fulton County Elections Hub, Seizes 700 Boxes

FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Elections Hub on Jan. 29, 2026, seizing 700 boxes of records tied to the 2020 election and drawing the presence of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Fulton County officials and Justice Department spokespeople said.

The raid has again centered the 2020 election in Georgia's 2026 governor's race, where Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — who joined an alternate slate of Trump electors in 2020 and carries Donald Trump's endorsement — faces Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr, political analysts said.

State and local election officials pushed back at a national meeting in Washington, D.C., with Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson saying the seizure undermines confidence in elections while some Republican secretaries demanded the court warrant and DOJ explain the legal basis, participants and officials said.

Reporting and Fulton County statements show the operation removed 700 boxes and followed reporting that Paul Brown, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta field office, was removed earlier in January after objecting to aspects of the probe.

Legal scholars including Rick Hasen of UCLA warned on Jan. 30, 2026, that statute-of-limitations questions could complicate criminal charges, and election officials said they expect litigation, refusals to hand over voter rolls and intensified state-level pushback ahead of the 2026 midterms, experts and officials said.