Identical Bomb Threats Shake Maricopa and Pima Counties on Election Day

On Election Day, bomb threats were issued in Maricopa and Pima counties, bearing identical language, as revealed through public records requests. Arizona was among several states facing similar threats, with ten out of the state’s 15 counties affected, according to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.

Officials classified the threats as “non-credible,” reassuring the public that voters were not in immediate danger and that election processes continued uninterrupted. However, some polling locations, including the Superior Court building in Maricopa County, experienced evacuations due to specific threats.

Recorder Stephen Richer was seen evacuating his office that night as a precaution. Although election offices in Cochise, La Paz, and Maricopa counties had to clear out, many others remained operational. In total, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, La Paz, Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma counties received threats that day.

A threat directed at Maricopa County and another to Pima County contained matching language, both sourced from different email accounts. The email to Maricopa County used the subject line “My manifesto,” attributed to an account named “maga_alex.” Pima County received a similar email from “maga_sam.” The only difference was the specified location of the alleged bomb.

The threat indicated a desire to detonate a device remotely: “It will not cause much damage to the building but there will be many wounded people when it explodes,” read the email from maga_alex.

Maricopa County Spokesman Fields Moseley issued a statement reassuring the public that the county’s technology remained secure. “Maricopa County employs multiple intrusion prevention and detection security controls across all technology layers including email,” he explained. “It was because of this training that the email was caught, reported, and addressed rapidly.”

Moseley noted that further comments were not possible due to an ongoing law enforcement investigation. The FBI had previously stated on November 5 that the emails seemed to originate from Russian domains, and they reiterated that none of the threats were considered credible.

Both emails were traced to domains belonging to Mailum and CyberFear, companies that claim to offer privacy-focused email services. However, when attempting to sign up for CyberFear, users find themselves directed to Mailum, which presents potential links between the two services. The service operates on a subscription model and has been noted for its claimed capacity to send mass emails.

While some states, like Georgia, reported over 60 bomb threats, Arizona’s election procedures remained largely unaffected overall. The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office is collaborating with law enforcement to investigate the incidents while ensuring that election integrity persists across the nation.