Grand Theft America / Receipt power-2026-06-11-050
The FBI raids an Ohio voter-registration group and seizes its computers
FBI agents raided the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a grassroots group that does voter registration work, and seized phones and laptops; a board member of the group said agents also went to the homes of people affiliated with it across the state and interviewed them.
What happened
Prentiss Haney, a board member of the group, said agents seized computers and phones and also showed up at homes of affiliated people throughout the state and interviewed them. Haney said the agents appeared to be examining accusations of fraud relating to the 2024 election, but that it was not immediately clear what the specifics of the investigation were. The FBI's Cleveland office did not return a request for comment. The Guardian reports the raid came about a month after a top official in the office of acting attorney general Todd Blanche instructed prosecutors to prioritise voter fraud cases.
Why it matters
The organisation raided registers voters, so the seizure takes the group's computers and phones out of use in the months before a midterm election in which it works. Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, called it an attempt to intimidate people working for democracy and said it fits a pattern of federal inquiries targeting voting infrastructure ahead of the midterm elections.
Receipt details
- Phase 1
- Silence the watchdogs
- Target watchdog nonprofits' funding
