FBI RAID Grabs 2020 Election Boxes

The FBI’s seizure of Fulton County’s original 2020 election records has ignited a high-stakes court fight over who controls the evidence—and how far the federal government can go.

Story Snapshot

FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at Fulton County’s main election office and removed hundreds of boxes of 2020 election records, including ballots and digital election data.
County leaders say agents took original records, not just copies, and allegedly left without providing a full inventory or clear chain-of-custody documentation.
Fulton County officials announced plans to sue the DOJ and FBI in federal court to force the return of records and protect sealed voter information.
The raid follows a DOJ Civil Rights Division lawsuit seeking access to election records and comes amid ongoing Georgia election-related litigation.

What the FBI Took—and Why Fulton County Is Pushing Back

Fulton County officials say FBI agents arrived with a federal search warrant and spent hours seizing election materials tied to the 2020 cycle, including in-person, absentee, and provisional ballots, voter rolls, ballot images, tabulator tapes, digital data, and other records. County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the county had expected to provide copies, but agents took originals. County leaders argue that removing originals raises serious practical and legal questions about custody, access, and protection of sensitive voter information.

Arrington announced the county would sue the Department of Justice and the FBI in the Northern District of Georgia, seeking return of the records, a forensic accounting of what was taken, and safeguards for data that the county says remains under Georgia court seal. Other county voices echoed that theme: compliance with lawful process, but resistance to what they view as an overbroad seizure. The county’s position is straightforward—if federal authorities want sealed materials, Fulton argues, there should be a transparent process that respects existing state court restrictions.

The Legal Backdrop: A Civil Records Fight Turns Criminal

The raid did not occur in a vacuum. In late 2025, the DOJ Civil Rights Division sued Fulton County Clerk Ché Alexander under federal election law frameworks to obtain records for compliance review. Fulton County moved to dismiss, arguing there is no federal entitlement to state-sealed materials while related litigation remains active. The search warrant escalated the conflict from a civil court dispute into a criminal investigative posture, with the warrant reportedly alleging potential ballot-fraud-related evidence without publicly detailing specific “anomalies.”

That shift matters for constitutional-minded Americans who care about due process and limits on government power. A search warrant carries different implications than a subpoena or civil discovery request, particularly when original records are removed rather than examined on-site or copied. At the same time, federal law does give the DOJ authority to enforce certain election-related statutes. The central question now moving toward a courtroom is whether the execution of the warrant respected procedure, scope, and the handling of sealed or sensitive data.

Georgia Politics and the Long Shadow of 2020

Georgia remains a pressure point because the 2020 results were narrow statewide, and Fulton County—large, urban, and heavily Democratic—has been at the center of years of scrutiny. Prior audits, recounts, and extensive litigation did not produce findings of widespread fraud, according to multiple summaries of the post-election record. Yet the politics never cooled, and a MAGA-aligned Georgia State Election Board later issued subpoenas for 2020 materials and urged federal involvement, increasing the likelihood of a federal-state collision.

The raid also intersects with Georgia’s long-running election-related prosecutions and disputes. Reporting indicates the records are tied up in ongoing litigation connected to the broader controversy surrounding Trump-era election challenges in the state and the prosecution originally launched by then-DA Fani Willis, who was later removed, with the case continuing under a new prosecutor. Fulton County’s claim that records are sealed is not a slogan—it is a legal status that typically requires formal steps to modify, which is why officials insist the federal government should have pursued unsealing through the courts.

Why Chain-of-Custody and Voter Data Protection Are Central

County leaders argue the practical risk is not just politics—it is integrity and accountability. If original ballots, tapes, and digital election artifacts are taken without a complete inventory or clear chain-of-custody documentation, it becomes harder for any party to verify what was removed, how it was handled, and whether the materials remained intact. Robb Pitts and other officials warned that records once considered secure are now outside local control, with uncertainty over storage, access, and the potential exposure of sensitive information.

Legal analysts cited in reporting described the raid as extraordinary and raised questions about whether it was appropriate given the pending civil litigation over access to records. Those warnings do not prove wrongdoing; they underline that the method—federal agents seizing originals—sets a precedent that could reverberate beyond Georgia. If federal authorities can bypass a slower civil path and instead remove originals in politically charged cases, election administration nationwide could become a permanent battleground between local control and Washington’s enforcement powers.

What Happens Next in Court—and What We Still Don’t Know

Fulton County’s planned lawsuit is expected to press for immediate relief: return of records, documentation of what was taken, and protective measures to ensure voter data remains shielded under Georgia’s seal. Meanwhile, the DOJ’s earlier lawsuit continues, and the raid’s warrant details, while partly reported, have not yielded public, specific evidence that would resolve the core dispute. With no final court rulings reported yet, the public is left with competing claims—federal authority versus local custody—without a full evidentiary picture.

For conservatives who demand both election transparency and constitutional restraint, this story is a reminder that process matters as much as outcomes. If Fulton County improperly withheld records, the courts can address it. If federal agents exceeded the proper scope or mishandled sealed materials, the courts should address that too. The next filings—and any judicial orders compelling returns, inventories, or protective protocols—will determine whether this becomes a model for accountability or a cautionary tale of government power tested at the county level.