Georgia man indicted for alleged bomb threat against polling location

Poll worker Nicholas Wimbish was indicted on Tuesday for allegedly mailing a bomb threat to the polling place where he worked, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a Wednesday release. Authorities also accused the 25-year-old of lying to FBI agents investigating the threat. Wimbish could receive up to 10 years in prison for the alleged threat, with up to another five years each on charges of mailing a threatening letter, conveying false information, and making false statements.

Why did the poll worker threaten his own polling site? Wimbish allegedly got into an argument with a voter while working at the Jones County Elections Office in mid-October. The same evening, Wimbish researched publicly available information about himself, then mailed the threatening letter to his polling place, the indictment alleged. The letter, written as though it came from the voter with whom Wimbish had the disagreement, referenced an argument with Wimbish and claimed to know where workers lived from public voting records. Wimbish’s letter posing as the voter further threatened rape and physical violence and ended by alluding to a potentially lit explosive at the polling place, according to the DOJ. During an interview with law enforcement, Wimbish allegedly blamed the voter he fought with before authorities allegedly found the letter drafted on Wimbish’s computer.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on the FBI investigation of three arson attacks on ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington.