The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information on the suspect behind the Northwest ballot box fires

Associated press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The FBI said Wednesday it is offering up to $25,000 in reward for information on the suspect behind recent ballot box burning in Oregon and Washington state.

Authorities believe a male suspect may have done that experience in metalworking and welding was responsible for three ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver, Washington, last month, including a fire that damaged hundreds of ballots in Vancouver about a week before Election Day. They have described him as a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, who is bald or has very short hair.

The FBI specifically asked for help identifying the suspect’s car. Surveillance cameras captured images of a dark-colored Volvo S-60 sedan from early 2003 to 2004, but at the time of the two most recent ballot box fires on Oct. 28 in Portland and Vancouver, it had a fraudulent Washington temporary license plate on the car. the back and no front plate, the agency said.

“No detail is too small. No tip is too small. If it involves a Volvo that matches our description, we want to hear about it,” Gregory Austin, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office, told reporters on Wednesday. “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. These three ballot box fires were an attack on both.”

William Brooks, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland field office, said multiple local law enforcement agencies provided resources, such as investigators, analysts and bomb technicians, to assist the investigation.

“Voters in both Oregon and Washington deserve answers in this case,” Brooks said. “Their voices and their voices matter, and we cannot allow one person’s violent actions to infringe on their rights.”

Investigators are trying to identify the person responsible and the motive behind it suspected arson.

The Oct. 28 firebombings were marked with the message “Liberate Gaza,” according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. A third device placed at another mailbox in Vancouver on Oct. 8 also contained the words “Free Palestine” in addition to “Free Gaza,” the official said.

Authorities are trying to determine whether the suspect actually had pro-Palestinian views or used the message to sow confusion, the official said.

A mailbox fire suppression system in Portland prevented most ballots from being scorched. Only three of the ballots inside were damaged.

The Vancouver ballot box was also equipped with a fire suppression system, but this did not prevent hundreds of ballots from being damaged during the mailbox fire on October 28. According to the Clark County Auditor’s Office, election staff were able to identify nearly 500 damaged ballots removed from the box.

No ballots were damaged in the city’s previous mailbox fire on Oct. 8.

In response, the county auditor’s office has increased the frequency of ballot collections and changed collection times to the evening to avoid leaving ballot boxes full of ballots overnight, when it is considered more likely that similar crimes will occur.