‘We would consider this voter intimidation’: Duval Co. Supervisor of Elections Office weighs in on ‘Proud Boys’ email

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An email circulating in several advance voting states has some voters and election sites concerned regarding potential voter intimidation.

Action News Jax reported on Oct. 20 about an email purporting to be from the Proud Boys and directing its recipients on how to vote, stating, “I would take this seriously if I were you.”

“We would consider this voter intimidation,” Robert Phillips, Duval County’s chief elections assistant, said.

Here is the email sent to one Clay County voter. His wife received the same email.

A review of the source code embedded in the emails showed the message originated from IP addresses linked to servers located in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Estonia, according to a review by CBS News.

The email claims it will know which candidate the recipient votes for.

“No one will ever know how you vote unless you choose to tell them,” Phillips said. “There’s not a lot that we can do [about the email], but what we can do is ensure voters that their polling locations are safe.”

The St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Office told Action News Jax they have not had any voters reach out regarding the email.

Clay County Supervisor of Elections Office has not yet gotten back to us.

Action News Jax reporter Meghan Moriarty reached out to Gov. Ron DeSantis' office for comment on the incident, but has not heard back.

Moriarty also reached out to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office for comment. A spokesperson for Moody sent a statement: “This is extremely concerning. Our office has received one complaint concerning this matter and has referred it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI. It is also our understanding that the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. As this matter is active and ongoing, we cannot comment further at this time.”

We also requested an interview with the Jacksonville FBI field office, but a spokesperson declined.

The FBI spokesperson did give Action News Jax this statement:

Though the FBI’s standard practice is to neither confirm nor deny any investigation, we take all election-related threats seriously whether it is vote fraud, voter suppression, or threats from cyber or foreign influence actors. The FBI Jacksonville Division is committed to supporting our election security partners throughout the state of Florida, and protecting our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. Help from the public is also vital to our effort. We encourage members of the public to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious, election-related activity to their local FBI field office or online at tips.fbi.gov. To learn more about federal election crimes visit www.fbi.gov/elections, and for tips and best practices to protect digital devices, social media accounts, private information and more visit www.fbi.gov/protectedvoices.

Cox Media Group