These punk asses think they can intimidate anyone, they've got another thing coming.
Voters across Brevard County Tuesday afternoon received threatening emails purporting to come from the Proud Boys, a far-right group that espouses militant authoritarian ideology, telling them to vote for President Trump, or else.
The emails appear to follow a similar format, and come from the email address "[email protected]."
"Hi (name) We are in possession of all your information You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you. (Voter's address)," it read.
Donald Schwinn, 85, a snowbird registered to vote in Melbourne Beach, received one, telling FLORIDA TODAY "they're trying to scare people into voting for Trump."
"I don't believe they have the resources to do this sort of thing," he continued, adding: "It makes me ashamed to be an American to think that such a group would do such a thing: threaten voters."
Voter email addresses and physical addresses are generally public records available upon request.
The domain for the sender's email "officialproudboys.com" was inactive by Tuesday afternoon although the site does appear to have been previously affiliated with the Proud Boys group. According to WUFT, internet records show that control over the internet address, created in March 2017, was changed Monday night.
Local officials are scrambling to get on top of the situation as reports came in Tuesday afternoon. Emails shared with FLORIDA TODAY show they went out between 3pm and 4pm.
Kimberly Boelzner, spokesperson for Brevard Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott, said their office has received several reports of such emails and are awaiting guidance from the state division of elections.
"We're advising voters to report it to local law enforcement," she said.
Schwinn said when he called the Brevard County Sheriff's Office they directed him to call the state's division of elections. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Boelzner said by 6 p.m. her office had received about a dozen emails and a dozen calls about the matter. Scott has been in touch with the FBI and other authorities.
"We are responding to voters and letting them know we appreciate them contacting us regarding the voter intimidation email they received. (Lori Scott) has contacted local, state, and federal partners for investigation into this very serious matter," she wrote in a follow up email.
Threatening emails telling voters to vote for Trump target Brevard County residents
The sender of the email claims to have "gained access to the entire voting infrastructure"
amp.floridatoday.com
