The federal government was not tracking any “specific, credible threats” of election violence one day before polls closed on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Jean-Pierre said law enforcement had briefed the president and the White House.
“There are no specific, credible threats identified at this point,” she said. “The president has been briefed on the threat environment and directed that all appropriate steps be taken to ensure safe and secure voting.”
In a speech last week, President Joe Biden issued a stark warning about possible political violence, referring to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the assault on Paul Pelosi earlier this month.
The president appeared to echo warnings issued by top U.S. intelligence officials in a recent bulletin, which warns that extremists pose a “heightened threat” to the 2022 midterms, particularly threats to election workers at polling places.
Multiple news outlets reported on a joint memo circulated between the top federal law enforcement agencies warning that “election-related perceptions of fraud” will likely spur domestic violent extremists in the “broader efforts to justify violence in the lead up to and following the 2022 midterm election cycle.”
“Election workers … were harassed and threatened just because they had the courage to do their job and stand up for the truth, to stand up for our democracy,” the president said of the 2020 election.
“This intimidation, this violence against Democrats, Republicans and nonpartisan officials just doing their jobs, are the consequence of lies told for power and profit, lies of conspiracy and malice, lies repeated over and over to generate a cycle of anger, hate, vitriol and even violence.”
Much of the projected violence will likely come from lone actors, officials said in the memo, and those extremists are expected to target “states or counties where recounts, audits, or public election disputes occur,” the memo read in part.
Biden is expected to speak Wednesday, the day after the election concludes, although the White House has been scant on details, especially regarding whether he will take questions from reporters that day.
Jean-Pierre said Monday that “Americans should feel safe going to the polls.”
“The administration has taken the issue of threats to the safety of voters and election officials seriously from day one,” she said. “The federal government has been working alongside state and local election officials and law enforcement to take the necessary steps to keep people safe.”
“As the president has said … you can’t love your country only when you win,” she added. “It remains important to the president to state strongly and unequivocally that violence has no place in our democracy. He will continue to condemn violence.”
Spectrum News’ Rachel Tillman and Justin Tasolides contributed to this report.
