The FBI’s seizure of 2020 election ballots in Georgia stemmed from a criminal investigation initiated by an advisor to former US President Donald Trump who supported his unsuccessful attempt to overturn the election, according to a search warrant made public on Tuesday.
Agents raided election offices last month in Fulton County, which encompasses the heavily Democratic city of Atlanta, removing hundreds of boxes of ballots and other election-related materials. Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed he won the 2020 vote in the state.
Fulton County officials filed suit seeking the return of the seized materials. District Judge JP Boulee, a Trump appointee, ordered the unsealing of the affidavit used to justify the raid.
The document states that the FBI is probing allegations of “electoral impropriety” during the 2020 election and “whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws.”
“The FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity,” the affidavit said.
The warrant cited a number of previously aired claims of fraud in Fulton County, many of which have been disproven. Olsen was part of Trump’s 2020 legal team that filed multiple lawsuits contesting the results; most were dismissed by courts across the United States.
Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden and, prior to the final tally, reportedly pressured a state election official to “find 11,780 votes” to secure a victory.
Trump and associates faced charges in Georgia over alleged attempts to subvert the election, though the case was ultimately dismissed in November 2025 amid a scandal involving the prosecutor. He also faced federal charges relating to election subversion and the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which were dropped after his 2024 election victory.
Fulton County chairman Rob Pitts said the county had been targeted because he “stood up to Donald Trump’s big lie.”
“Every audit, every recount, every court ruling has confirmed what we the people of Fulton County already knew: our elections were fair and accurate, and every legal vote was counted,” he said.
While US elections are administered by individual states, Trump has suggested that Republicans should “nationalise the voting” in certain areas in response to his unfounded claims of fraud.
