CHICAGO (WLS) — Polling stations in Oregon and Washington state were bombed early Monday morning, one of many domestic terrorist threats that federal agencies, including the FBI, have been warning about for months.

Now, just over a week before general electionsthe alerts seem to be turning into reality.

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last month, The ABC 7 I-Team first reported it on a federal intelligence warning that violent domestic extremists could target ballot boxes and other soft targets of election equipment. In the early hours of the morning, on the northwest coast, those fears came true.

News of the ballot box fires comes as the I-Team obtained a copy of a new, broader warning released Monday morning by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, focused on threat actors who can capitalize on the claims of electoral fraud. to generate general election-related violence in the coming weeks.

“Some individuals call for violence in response to narratives of election fraud, primarily targeting election officials and populations that threat actors perceive as threatening the integrity of the 2024 general election,” the federal bulletin said. “Some individuals motivated by this narrative have declared their intention online to intimidate voters or election staff through surveillance of election infrastructure or staff, including by armed individuals.”

The threat assessment was resumed in a dire assessment by the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, last Friday.

“Election officials face very real physical threats, threats of harassment, violence, hitting, assault, threats against election officials in both parties and their families, stemming largely from unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election did not represent the will of the people American. Easterly said.

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Election experts and federal authorities say disinformation plays a role in indoctrinating threat actors.

“Disinformation is certainly part of it,” said cybersecurity professor Jason Perry, Ph.D., who teaches at Lewis University. “And the people who create and spread misinformation, they know exactly what kind of messages, not just words, but video images, are going to trigger people who are, you know, potentially vulnerable to violent action because of their beliefs and things that they have. that they believe”.

The investigation into who set fire to ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest early Monday is ongoing. Authorities suspect the same attacker set fire to ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington, 10 miles apart.

The murders fit the MO of domestically violent extremists that federal officials are concerned about.

There have been limited federal arrests since the last election involving violent actions and threats by individuals identified as extremists against election officials.

At least 12 people have been convicted in connection with violent threats directed at election officials or volunteers during the 2020 general election and 2022 midterm elections.

Despite the warnings, federal election officials are confident the Nov. 5 election will be safe.

“We know election officials have been preparing for this election for years,” Easterly said. “They’ve trained, they’ve exercised and they’re prepared and have contingency plans in place for the full range of disruptions.”