Key facts
- The FBI searched the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a voting rights group.
- Agents seized computers, phones, and documents related to alleged voter fraud.
- The investigation reportedly focuses on potential fraud violations in voter registration.
- FBI agents also visited the homes of individuals affiliated with the group.
- The raid occurred shortly after directives to prioritize voter fraud cases and amid previous referrals of non-citizens registering to vote.
FBI agents raided the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a grassroots group involved in voter registration, on Thursday, seizing computers, phones, and documents. The action has raised concerns among civil rights organizations and elected officials that the Trump administration is targeting groups working to ensure voter access ahead of the midterm elections.
Prentiss Haney, a board member of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, described the raid as a "coordinated assault" and an attempt to "weaponize the justice department" against those fighting for working-class and Black voters. He indicated that agents were examining accusations of fraud related to the 2024 election, though specific details of the investigation remained unclear.
This development follows a directive from an official in acting attorney general Todd Blanche’s office to prioritize voter fraud cases. Last fall, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose referred 1,084 non-citizens who had registered to vote to the Justice Department. Federal investigators have also reportedly collected voter records in at least six Ohio counties.
Elected officials, including Ohio Democratic Representative Shontel Brown and Senator Sherrod Brown, condemned the raid. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb called for transparency regarding the FBI's basis for the action. Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, characterized the raid as an "outrageous fishing expedition" and an "egregious abuse of law enforcement for political ends."