Devices With ‘Free Gaza’ Messages Found at Ballot Box Fires

The police said they had not determined a motive for the arson fires in Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash. But the messages have heightened the sensitivity of the investigation.


The fire suppressant system at the ballot box in Vancouver, Wash., did not contain the blaze and hundreds of ballots were destroyed, officials said. Monika Spykerman/The Columbian, via Associated Press

By Adam Goldman and Mike Baker
Oct. 29, 2024

Investigators responding to arson fires at two ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest this week found devices at both scenes marked with the words “Free Gaza,” according to two law enforcement officials.

Investigators are trying to determine if the perpetrator was actually a pro-Palestinian activist or someone using that prominent cause to sow discord, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. But the message has added a heightened layer of political sensitivity to a closely watched investigation in the final days of a tense presidential election.

The “Free Gaza” message appeared not only on the two devices, which were discovered on Monday, but also on a device found at a third ballot box this month in Vancouver, according to the law enforcement officials. That device also had the words “Free Palestine” on it.

Officials said at a news conference that they believed all three events were linked. They later released surveillance images of a suspect vehicle, asking for the public’s help in identifying the person driving a dark, early 2000s Volvo.

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FBI investigates fires at Vancouver, Portland ballot boxes that burned hundreds of ballotsUpdated 5 hours agoTrending

News report: ‘Free Gaza’ text found on incendiary devices

By Alexis Weisend, Columbian staff reporter
Published: October 29, 2024, 6:25pm
Updated: October 29, 2024, 6:46pm


The Clark County Election’s Office released photos of the burned ballots Tuesday evening. (Photo contributed by the Clark County Election’s Office) Photo Gallery

Recently released photos from the Clark County Election’s Office show the magnitude of the Monday morning attack on an east Vancouver ballot box. Hundreds of ballots with singed edges and burns are shown spread over a table.

The FBI is investigating the arson attacks, which targeted two ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland early Monday and another in Vancouver earlier this month.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI want to assure our communities that we are working closely and expeditiously together to investigate the two incendiary fires at the ballot boxes in Vancouver, Washington, and the one in Portland, Oregon, and will work to hold whoever is responsible fully accountable,” according to a Tuesday statement from U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman and Greg Austin, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office.

The New York Times reported early Tuesday the incendiary devices found Monday at the ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland were both marked with the words “Free Gaza.” A device found at a third ballot box earlier this month in Vancouver also had the words “Free Palestine,” the New York Times reported, attributing the information to “law enforcement officials.”

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