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Fulton County, Georgia to sue after FBI seizes 2020 election records

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Fulton County, Georgia to sue after FBI seizes 2020 election records

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Lawyers in Fulton County, Georgia, are preparing to file a lawsuit over the FBI’s recent search of an election hub and its seizure of records linked to the 2020 election. 

Fulton County Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington Jr. on Monday announced the county’s intent to challenge the search in court.

Arrington said the county will file a motion in the Northern District of Georgia challenging “the legality of the warrant and the seizure of sensitive election records, and force the government to return the ballots taken.”

“I’ve asked the county attorney to take any and all steps available to fight this criminal search warrant,” Arrington said in a statement, according to several reports. “The search warrant, I believe, is not proper, but I think that there are ways that we can limit it. We want to ask for forensic accounting, we want the documents to stay in the State of Georgia under seal, and we want to do whatever we can to protect voter information.”

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FBI AGENTS SEARCH ELECTION HUB IN FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA

Ballots arrive at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center on election night on Nov. 5, 2024, in Fairburn, Georgia. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

The announcement comes after FBI agents executed a warrant at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Union City, Georgia, on Jan. 28. The center was opened by state officials in 2023 and was designed to streamline the election process. The search warrant for the center, which was reviewed by Fox News, allowed the seizure of records, voting rolls and other data tied to the 2020 election.

Fulton County is the most populous county in Georgia and includes the capital city of Atlanta. The county was at the center of voter fraud complaints in the wake of the 2020 election, which President Donald Trump lost. The claims did not survive court scrutiny.

When reached by Fox News Digital, the DOJ pointed to remarks made by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week.

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Blanche declined to comment on the investigation during a news conference, but underscored the administration’s emphasis on “election integrity.”

“Election integrity is extraordinarily important to this administration, it always has been and always will be,” Blanche said.

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FBI investigators near the scene of a crime in their official jackets. (Getty Images)

In December 2025, the Department of Justice sued Fulton County for access to ballots related to the 2020 election. However, the county is fighting the lawsuit and claiming that the DOJ did not make a valid argument for accessing the ballots.

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“They got copies of our voter rolls and all the original ballots,” Arrington said, according to WLUK-TV. “Now we cannot verify that we’ve received everything back because there was no chain-of-custody inventory taken at the time the records were seized.”

Trump confirmed last week that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present during the FBI’s search of the Fulton County facility for matters related to election security.

Trump and several others were indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County Superior Court in 2023 over allegations that they engaged in a racketeering scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 election. However, the case never made it to trial, as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from prosecuting it. The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, an independent entity, later moved to dismiss the indictment.

District Attorney Fani Willis during a hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

Despite Democrats’ scrutiny of the recent search, FBI Director Kash Patel has defended the bureau’s actions, saying investigators conducted an “extensive” investigation before the search took place.

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“The FBI follows the facts and the law, and President Trump and the attorney general have given us a clear mandate to reduce crime in this country and investigate anything that rises to the level of probable cause,” Patel said on “Saturday in America.”

“The FBI and the DOJ went in and collected numerous pieces of evidence that the judge authorized us to collect,” Patel later added.

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The director said investigators were reviewing a “voluminous” amount of information collected during the search as the probe remains ongoing.

Fox News Digital reached out to Arrington’s office for comment.

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Fox News’ David Spunt and Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Ashley Oliver, Alec Schemmel and Madison Colombo contributed to this report.

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Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

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Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body. 

The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.   

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country. 

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The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger  (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)

“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. 

“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone. 

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Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go. 

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE. 

The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials. 

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Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

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Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said. 

Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital. 

During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said. 

Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said.  (Getty Images )

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“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. 

“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”

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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)

Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said. 

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His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education. 

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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer. 

Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE. 

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High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

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High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).

Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

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Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.

GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.

A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)

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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.

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This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.

The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.

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Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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