Crime
Law enforcement responding to multiple bomb threats at Seven voting precincts in DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County Voter Registration & Elections has reported bomb threats at seven locations, including five active voting precincts across the county.
To ensure the safety of voters and staff, the DeKalb County Police Department is conducting bomb sweeps at each of these sites.
The polling precincts affected are as follows:
- New Bethel AME Church at 8350 Rockbridge Rd., Lithonia
- New Life Community Center at 3592 Flat Shoals Rd., Decatur
- North DeKalb Senior Center at 3393 Malone Dr., Chamblee
- Reid H. Cofer Library at 5234 Lavista Rd., Tucker
- Wesley Chapel Library at 2861 Wesley Chapel Rd., Decatur
Additional locations, though not polling sites, have also received threats:
- Stonecrest (Old Sam’s Club), which is not an active polling location
- Salem Panola Library at 5137 Salem Rd., Lithonia
In response, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has assured the public, stating, “Every asset that we have will be deployed to ensure that every citizen who wants to vote will be given that opportunity and every vote cast will be counted.” DeKalb VRE Executive Director Keisha Smith added, “Rest assured that we are working quickly to ensure every voter will have an opportunity to cast their ballot despite these bomb threats.”
Voting at these affected locations is temporarily suspended as a precaution, and voting will resume once the police confirm the sites are safe.
The DeKalb County Law Department is also working to obtain an emergency order to extend voting hours at these impacted locations, ensuring every voter has the opportunity to cast their ballot.
A transgender National Guard pilot has spoken out after being falsely accused on social media of piloting the Black Hawk helicopter involved in the fatal midair collision with a passenger jet near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, which claimed 67 lives.
Jo Ellis, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the Virginia Army National Guard, addressed the misinformation in a Facebook post on Friday, denouncing the baseless claims that had gained traction online.
The false allegations echoed unsubstantiated rhetoric from former President Donald Trump, who suggested diversity initiatives were to blame for the tragedy.
“Some craziness has happened on the internet, and I’m being named as one of the pilots of the D.C. crash,” Ellis wrote. “It’s insulting to the victims and families of those lost, and they deserve better than this BS from the bots and trolls of the internet.”
Ellis included screenshots of posts on X (formerly Twitter) that attempted to link her gender identity to the catastrophic crash.
One post speculated, “Wouldn’t be surprised if the pilot was trans,” while another falsely claimed Ellis had made “radicalized anti-Trump statements” on social media. The latter post was later deleted, and the account issued an apology.
Despite these corrections, Ellis’ name trended on X, accumulating over 19,400 mentions.
Even after she publicly refuted the claims—including in a follow-up video titled “Proof of Life”—far-right accounts continued to circulate misinformation and hate speech targeting her.
The National Guard has not commented on the allegations, and official investigations into the crash remain ongoing.