Police in Ankeny, Iowa, say they disarmed a live pipe bomb after it was found by some dog walkers at a polling station while voting during a local election on Tuesday.
“Ankeny police officers were called to Lakeside Center, 400 Lakeshore Drive, after a suspicious device,” the city said Tuesday. “When officers arrived there, they saw what looked like a pipe bomb. The Lakeside Center is being used as a polling station today for the special election in the Ankeny Community School District, and officers immediately evacuated the building.”
After police were called to the scene once, they said they had deployed a bomb squad and neutralized the threat.
Local police said they had no clues as to who left the pipe bomb in the center, adding that they had not received any reports of other devices or threats to other polling stations.
Voting in the Lakeside Center was suspended for about three hours during the incident, election officials said.
Rep. Cindy Axne
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“This threat to our election is unacceptable, and those responsible must be held accountable for this attempted violence against our democracy and its citizens,” Axne said in a statement. “I want to thank our law enforcement officials, first responders and local election officials who acted swiftly to protect Iowa voters and voters.”
Foreign Minister Paul Pate (R) praised local law enforcers for their timely response to the threat.
“Good job today @Polkauditorfitzvoters, law enforcers and all those involved in ensuring the safety of voters and the public, ” did he tweet, with the label of Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald. “Thank you so much to everyone. Real team effort.”
Since the 2020 presidential election, law enforcers have warned against the growing threat of political violence.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin due to an ‘increased threat environment across the United States’.
“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other allegations fueled by false narratives, may continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence,” reads the bulletin.
In a poll conducted in February, it was found that 1 in 3 Americans that violence is justified if American leaders do not protect the country.