This Election’s Got Everything: Russian Bomb Threats, Harassment, Suspicious Packages

Election Day 2024 was one for the books: On Tuesday, November 5, the FBI released a statement confirming “noncredible” bomb threats targeting polling stations in multiple states, notably Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan, originating from Russian email domains. Polling locations in Jacksonville, Florida, and Cincinnati, Ohio, reported suspicious packages, forcing them to close until threats were cleared.

Why it matters:

So far, the Election Day incidents appear to be isolated, and there’s no evidence linking them to extremist groups. Even so, it’s critical to track and understand these tactics — from targeted harassment to bomb threats — because they may be used to sow distrust in the democratic process, or even incite political violence. Consider it a very rough road map of potential future disasters.

Election Disinformation: Dusting Off Our Lie-Detector Kit

Is there anything more American than a slew of election-related mis- and disinformation campaigns timed to break at a decisive moment in a horse race of a presidential election? Apparently not, the conspiracy theorists and semi-professional liars did themselves proud in 2024, churning out a slate of truly bananas stories about immigrants, government-controlled hurricanes and, of course, Jewish control over... everything.

Why it matters:

Election-related dis- and misinformation is nothing new, but it reached disturbing levels during the 2024 presidential campaign, bolstered by Generative AI and the resulting nightmarish images, videos and speeches. Foreign actors, notably Russians, mounted a reprise of their 2020 disinformation efforts, amplifying and recirculating existing false narratives with the hope of stoking racial division in the U.S. As technology improves, watch for the information ecosystem to be overwhelmed with (even more) misleading content. Something to look forward to.

For more about the truth behind election disinformation campaigns: The ADL Debunk: False Narratives Around the 2024 Presidential Election

Michigan Man Chooses Wrong Cologne for His Very Special Trip to Congress

On November 5, 2024, 28-year-old Austin Martin Olson, of Westland, Michigan, was arrested after he allegedly walked into the U.S. Capitol with a flare gun, torch lighter, bottles of fuel and a letter he said he intended to “deliver to Congress.” Olson was apprehended while trying to go through the visitor center screening process, after Capitol Police noticed he smelled like fuel and spotted suspicious items in the X-ray machine. On X, Olson has expressed a range of far-right tropes and antisemitic views, railing against American capitalism and celebrating the racist and antisemitic Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which argues that Jews are trying to “replace” white Americans with nonwhite citizens (read: voters). For reference, this is the same venomous lie that motivated the Tree of Life synagogue shooter, the Buffalo supermarket shooter and the El Paso Wal-Mart shooter, among others.

Why it matters:

Antisemitism and vitriolic opposition to Israel are often combined with grievances against American systems to form an entirely illogical stew of hatred and bigotry. Yes, we’re looking at you, gasoline guy.

The Merger No One Asked For: National Socialist Front (NSF) & Patriot Front

On October 23, Joshua Dan Nunes, founder of the National Socialist Front (NSF), announced that NSF would merge with fellow white supremacist group Patriot Front. In a post shared on Telegram, Nunes wrote, not at all defensively, “NSF was a successful organization, and I decided to merge with PF [Patriot Front] to consolidate power. It’s just logical.”

Why it matters:

Disbanding NSF appears to be less of a carefully workshopped marketing decision than a response to mounting legal pressure and new legislation in Florida. Nunes has been hinting at a shift for a while; in a July 2023 interview with a neo-Nazi streamer, he announced the group would focus on “comradery building” and spend less time on demonstrations and propaganda distribution, saying, “I wouldn’t touch [the fliers] with a 20-foot pole now because you could potentially go to jail for 5 years over it.”

Utopia, but Make it Super Racist: White Supremacist Groups Fundraise to Buy Properties

What housing crisis? Two white supremacist Norse pagan groups are fundraising to purchase properties/buildings that are to become group “hofs,” or meeting houses. In September 2024, leadership for Irminfolk, a small, New York-based white supremacist group, announced it had purchased a Victorian-era house in an “undisclosed location” (but determined, via geo-location, to be in Thompson, Pennsylvania). The second group, Raven Folk United, founded in 2023 and based primarily in the western United States, launched its property fundraising campaign — providing no additional details — in September 2024.

Why it matters:

Most Norse pagan (also known as Odinist) groups tend to prefer congregating in more out-of-the-way locations, but the Irminfolk’s property is smack dab in the middle of Main Street. This suggests the group may be testing Thompson’s small-town hospitality, or hoping the purchase will be seen as a direct provocation, which will attract media attention. However this plays out, COE will keep tabs on the purchase — and how it impacts the local community.