☑️ The Attorney General's investigation determined the video to be a fake

☑️ Yardley police were first to be notified

☑️ Federal agencies expected additional fake videos


 

A video showing a ballot with a vote for Donald Trump being removed from an envelope and torn up was part of a Russian disinformation campaign, according to federal officials.

The Bucks County Attorney General's initial investigation determined the video was fabricated in an attempt to undermine confidence in the upcoming election. The FBI was notified.

“The IC assesses that Russian actors manufactured and amplified a recent video that falsely depicted an individual ripping up ballots in Pennsylvania, judging from information available to the IC and prior activities of other Russian influence actors, including videos and other disinformation activities," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a joint statement.

The video showed a person sorting through what looked like mail ballots labeled as coming from Bucks County. The person, who was Black, appeared to be tearing up ballots marked for Trump, and leaving alone ballots marked for Vice President Kamala Harris.

"In the lead up to election day and in the weeks and months after, the IC expects Russia to create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans," the agencies said.

Citizen complaints from across Bucks County and a call from the Yardley Borough police chief alerted District Attorney Jennifer Schorn that the video was circulating online. Schorn was in a pretrial conference Thursday and when she emerged she saw the calls about the video pouring in.

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Donald Trump Visits McDonald's in Feasterville 10/20/24

Former President Donald Trump made his promised stop at a Bucks County McDonald's on 10/20/24. Supporters lined Street Road around the restaurant in the Feasterville section of Lower Southampton as Trump's motorcade passed by. During his "shift" Trump learned how to use the fry cooker and worked the drive-through.

Gallery Credit: Dan Alexadner