At least seven state capitol buildings around the country, including in Midwestern states like Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kentucky, received mass-emailed bomb threats on Wednesday morning, prompting evacuations and sweeps for explosive devices.
In an X post Wednesday morning, Georgia elections official Gabriel Sterling confirmed the threats.
There have been multiple bomb threats to state capitols around the nation. So far Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan & Montana. Do not jump to conclusions as to who is responsible. There will be chaos agents sowing discord for 2024. They want to increase tensions. Don’t let them.
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) January 3, 2024
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced an investigation after the Capitol in Frankfurt was threatened, and the state police cleared the building for return hours later. The Wisconsin Department of Administration also confirmed a threat at the state Capitol in Madison.
In Wisconsin from the Department of Administration: “The Wisconsin State Capitol Police are aware of a generic email that was received and have taken additional measures to ensure the safety of the building and those working inside the Capitol.” https://t.co/C8lFX2MvfK
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) January 3, 2024
The threats in Georgia and Michigan were the result of emails sent to generic government accounts claiming several explosive devices were inside the buildings. It is unclear if the same email was sent to all the threatened buildings or if it was sent by the same person(s). No explosives have been found at any of the threatened locations.
The FBI made a statement on Wednesday urging caution in wake of the threats.
“The FBI is aware of the numerous hoax incidents wherein a bomb threat at a state Capitol building is made. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” the statement said. “While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention.”
According to a report from ABC News, other states that received threats include Maine, Missouri, Oregon, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New York, South Dakota and South Carolina.