Philadelphia police investigate bomb threat against vote counting center
On Friday, Philadelphia police investigated a bomb threat made against the city's Convention Center, where votes are still being tallied, while also revealing additional information pertaining to arrests made on Thursday related to a possible threat against the same location.
In a news conference, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw confirmed that police arrested two out-of-state men on Thursday following a tip from the FBI that warned "an individual or a group was traveling to the city from Virginia in a Hummer with the intention of attacking the election location," The Independent reports. The men, who are 61 and 42 years old, had traveled to Philadelphia from Virginia in a silver Hummer that sported stickers related to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Officers stopped the men after noticing that one had a Beretta 9mm pistol and the other had a concealed Beretta .40 caliber handgun, NBC News reports; the men also reportedly had an "AR-15 style weapon" in their truck, with "approximately 160 rounds of ammunition." The men were arrested and charged for allegedly not having a valid Pennsylvania firearms license.
On Friday afternoon, Philadelphia police further conducted evacuations downtown after bomb threats were made in two calls by the same individual. The police confirmed that the threats were against the Philadelphia Convention Center, but after sweeps of the surrounding area by K9 units, no device had been found as of 3 p.m, the Philly Voice reports.
While both incidents potentially targeted the vote counting center, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said of the Virginia duo who'd been arrested Thursday that "we do not have indications that the story is bigger than these two individuals." Philadelphia's ballots have emerged as some of the most pivotal of the election, since its Democratic-leaning returns have put Vice President Joe Biden over the edge in the state, which, if he wins, would deliver him the presidency.
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