FBI confirms use of thermite in PNW ballot box fires and repeats plea for public’s help identifying suspect

Maxine Bernstein / oregonlive.com (TNS)
Posted 1/17/25

The FBI agents in charge of Seattle and Portland’s offices joined Thursday to call for more help from the public, particularly after confirming that whoever tried to set fire to three ballot …

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FBI confirms use of thermite in PNW ballot box fires and repeats plea for public’s help identifying suspect

Posted

The FBI agents in charge of Seattle and Portland’s offices joined Thursday to call for more help from the public, particularly after confirming that whoever tried to set fire to three ballot boxes in Portland and Vancouver last fall used devices that included combustible thermite.

“We’re very worried this person may harm himself or others if he continues to experiment with thermite,” said W. Mike Herrington, the FBI special agent in charge in the Seattle office.

Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder and metal oxide that when ignited can create a burst of heat and high temperature and cause severe injuries and damage to structures, they said. The thermite was made from metal shavings and rust and can burn as hot as 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“This is a very volatile mix,” said Doug Olson, FBI special agent in charge of the Portland office.

The person welded scrap metal for the exterior of the devices and inserted thermite inside, Olson said. Each device likely contained a coffee-cup amount of thermite, he said.

The FBI at this time hasn’t linked the three ballot box arsons to any other arson attempts involving thermite, Olson said.

No arrests have been made in the vandalism last October.

The FBI leaders spoke days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and about two months after their offices announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever was responsible for the ballot box fires.

The initial attack occurred between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Oct. 8 in Vancouver but the incendiary device didn’t go off.



Two more devices were left between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Oct. 28 at the Multnomah County Elections Office in Southeast Portland and at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center in Vancouver.

Ballot boxes in both states were equipped with fire suppression equipment, but the Vancouver equipment failed and several hundred ballots caught fire. Only three ballots in Multnomah County were lightly charred.

Investigators said two of the devices were marked with the words, “Free Gaza.” Investigators don’t know if the suspect was actually a pro-Palestinian activist or trying to appear as such to throw off authorities. The FBI is still working to determine the motive, Olson and Herrington said.

The FBI suspects that a man was responsible but is not eliminating the possibility that he had an accomplice. He likely has abandoned the 2003-2004 black or dark gray Volvo S-60 that was captured on video surveillance images. The car had a sunroof and worn trim.

The FBI leaders asked that “anyone in the Pacific Northwest” alert the FBI or police if they have noticed the sale of such a vehicle or seen a car fitting the description that has been abandoned. They also asked people to report if they’ve encountered unusual behavior by someone shortly before or since the fires.

That unusual behavior could include fixation on the 2024 presidential election or the current political climate, recent research on thermite, grinding metals or collecting metal scraps including pipe endcaps, nuts and bolts or engaging in welding projects. Other clues, they said, could be unexplained fire damage to a home, field or wilderness area or someone who displayed unusual interest in the news coverage of the ballot box fires.

The FBI has offered a reward of $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and CrimeStoppers of Oregon has offered a separate reward of up to $2,500.

Investigators asked anyone with information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or submit information online at tips.fbi.gov. Tips can remain anonymous.

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