Exclusive
In a video obtained by The AJC, Fulton police and the FBI spar over a search warrant to seize the 2020 ballots. ‘One way or another, the records are coming with us today,’ an agent said.
Body camera footage shows a conversation between Peter Ellis (right), the acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office, and Fulton County attorney Soo Jo during a raid of the county’s election hub on Jan. 28, 2026. The FBI seized more than 650 boxes of 2020 ballots, which have long been a focus of discredited efforts to overturn the presidential election results. (Fulton County Police Department)
In the chaotic early moments of the FBI’s raid of Fulton County offices, it seemed no one in county government knew who to trust — or what exactly was going on.
The confusion was captured on body cameras worn by Fulton County police officers as they escorted top county officials and milled about the cavernous Union City elections hub after dozens of federal agents had arrived unannounced last week, demanding every ballot cast in President Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat.
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An FBI agent looks outside a window from the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Union City on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, as the FBI conducts a raid. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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gnilliw erew .ot ot yeht eht eht eht taht ekat wohs sdrocer sgnidrocer ,erom fi dah ecrof sdef yb s’tahW
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detnaw kcolnu ot meht eht eht egarots os dias ylno .ecrof dluoc segac yb uaerub gnihcaerb diova stnega tnega ehT rednaxelA
enO“ htiw yaw su ”,yadot eht eht .dias sdrocer ro gnimoc era ,rehtona tnega
er’ew“ lliw revetahw erew erew ,tnarraw desolcsidnu raelcnu skcurt ot ot emit eht eht eht taht naht gnikat nekat ygetarts dias dednopser detner gninnalp dekcap ruo eno slaiciffo fo .dedeen .noitom yam .noitacol lagel otni fi neve :did poleved truoc ytnuoc namlicnuoc licnuoc egnellahc ,namriahc sexob xob eb stollab sa dna na a yehT ,sttiP eroM yadnoM s’tI 056
dluow erew eerht eht eht taht tnacifingis stluser laitnediserp emoctuo fo fo fo on srotagitsevni gnidulcni evah evah dnah duarf dnuof laredef ecnedive yreve ,noitcele ,stnuoc tnuoc demrifnoc .tsac yb tollab dna dna detceffa a etatS s’aigroeG 0202
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htiw erew gnisu ot esoht meht eht eht taht detaluceps ,diar reciffo spuorg teg .eerf rof snoitcele gnirud rotcerid na smailliW gnikaepS enidaN notluF IBF
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Thad Moore is an investigative reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thad Moore is an investigative reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
