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MIAMI: Florida authorities were investigating emails sent to registered Democrats demanding they vote for President Donald Trump in the November 3 election “or we’ll go after you.”
The messages, supposedly from the far-right group Proud Boys, all have the same text but are addressed to voters by name.
“We are in possession of all your information. He is currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access to the entire voting infrastructure, ”the email reads.
“You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will go after you. Please change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate he voted for.
“I would take this seriously if I were you,” the message ends, adding the voter’s address. “Good luck.”
Public information in state voting records in the US includes a person’s name, address, and party affiliation.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in North Florida said via Facebook that “they are aware of an email that is circulating, allegedly from the Proud Boys.”
The message “appears to be a scam and we are initiating an investigation into the source of the email” along with the help of FBI agents and state election officials.
The Miami Herald reported that students at the University of Florida received these emails, all from the address: [email protected]
The Proud Boys is a white nationalist hate group known for its misogyny and Islamophobia, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors hate groups across the country.
The group made headlines when Trump refused to condemn them in his first debate with his Democratic rival Joe Biden on September 29.
Instead, he asked them to “stand back and stand by.”
Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys and state director of Latinos for Trump in Florida, told The Washington Post on Wednesday that his group had nothing to do with the emails.
A spokesman for the Republican Party previously told AFP that Tarrio’s Latinos for Trump group is not affiliated with the party and denied any ties to the Proud Boys.
Similar emails were received in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona – where, as in Florida, Trump is in a tight race with Biden.
