FBI agents have searched the office of an Ohio group that supports voter registration efforts, seizing documents and computer files, a board member of the organization said Friday.
It’s the latest action by connected to voting or election operations in the states, and it comes in a state that is expected to have hotly contested races this fall for governor and U.S. Senate.
Federal agents showed up at the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on Thursday and spent hours questioning staff, said Prentiss Haney, a board member of the grassroots organization. The organization was founded in 2007 and describes its mission as fighting for criminal justice reform, racial justice and an expansion of voting rights.
Federal agents also went to the homes of people who have worked with the organization, seeking interviews and information about alleged voter fraud, Haney said. He accused the agents of 鈥渋ntimidation tactics and harassment” and expressed concern that the investigation was designed to sow doubt in the coming elections.
The focus of the probe was unclear, but a person familiar with the matter said Friday that investigators were examining potential fraud violations. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Friday, and a spokesperson for the FBI in Cleveland did not respond to messages seeking comment.
To obtain a search warrant, federal authorities must convince a judge that probable cause of criminal activity exists. Though the information authorities presented was not immediately released, Democrats expressed skepticism about the basis of a search that unfolded against persistent concerns of .
The party’s nominees for the state’s top races issued statements Friday saying they were troubled by the FBI raid.
鈥淎ny attempts by federal law enforcement to intimidate eligible Ohioans from registering to vote are unacceptable,鈥� said Dr. Amy Acton, the state鈥檚 , who won the state鈥檚 Democratic primary for governor and is challenging Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is in the fall, called on the FBI to make public 鈥渁ny and all activities around these raids.鈥�
He added, 鈥淎ny attempt to intimidate Ohio voters is wrong, and will not work.鈥�
Republicans have held the state’s top elected seat for 20 years and hold both U.S. Senate seats but are concerned that Democratic momentum in this year’s midterms could .
The Justice Department during President Donald Trump’s second term has launched several legal actions or investigations related to voting or state election operations.
The FBI has seized ballots and other records from the 2020 election for Georgia鈥檚 and Arizona鈥檚 and from the 2024 election in Michigan鈥檚 . It also has been questioning election workers in Wisconsin鈥檚 Milwaukee County. All four are in presidential battleground states.
The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia after they refused to hand over that includes dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers. It has said in court filings that it wants the information so it can run it through a Department of Homeland Security program that checks U.S. citizenship, although the program’s accuracy . The Justice Department has so far in its lawsuits seeking to extract the data from the holdout states.
Early in his second term, Trump, a Republican, also ordered the Justice Department to , the top fundraising platform for the Democratic Party.
Allegations of fraud in voter registration efforts are typically investigated by states and usually involve people working for groups that pay for sign-ups. Earlier this year, California officials into whether signature-gatherers were offering to pay people for signing a ballot petition. In 2025, Pennsylvania officials against seven people for submitting fraudulent voter registration forms.
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Lauer reported from Philadelphia, and Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.
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