Authorities still dont know the reason for the Christmas day bombing, but theres no evidence it was election related. Once a hacker starts talking to the voting machine through the modem, the hacker cannot just change these unofficial election results, they can hack the software in the voting machine and make it cheat in future elections, he said. The post reads: In Nashville 2 days ago an RV pulled up to a building and over a loud speaker announced to clear the area..the RV then blew up taking half a building with it..oh, minor detail - inside that building were the Dominion voting machines being audited. While the post does not specify which building they believed the machines were held in, a Dominion Voting Systems spokesperson said by email that none of their machines were anywhere in the area of the explosion or were being audited in Nashville that day. Investigators say the explosion in Nashville was perpetrated by a 63-year-old Tennessean named Anthony Warner, who blared a warning to nearby people from his RV requesting they evacuate before the bomb detonated. So did the type of explosives used to detonate the blast. Posted By: Dreadnought, 2/28/2023 9:52:47 PM Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News highlights former House Speaker Paul Ryan's alleged influence over Fox News Channel's (FNC) editorial control, reportedly urging . Dominion Voting Systems which commands more than a third of the voting-machine market without having Washington lobbyists has hired its first, a high-powered firm that includes a. As of now, the person of interest identified by the FBI in connection with the explosion, Anthony Quinn Warner, is believed to have been "paranoid about 5G technology" (another frequent subject of conspiracy theories) rather than possessing any election-related motive. While a building was destroyed in a blast in Nashville on Christmas Day, and a printing company in New York state caught fire on Christmas Eve and later burned down, neither building held evidence related to the U.S. elections. If you have super majorities, Tennessee is like an R plus twenty state. "AT&T got a contract to do forensic audit on Dominion voting machines and those machines were being moved to Nashville this past week," one Dec. 27 post says. In a letter obtained by NBC News sent to the EAC on Tuesday, the nonprofit public interest group Free Speech for People and the National Election Defense Coalition asked the agency to look into whether ES&S violated agency regulations by implying that DS200 voting machines with modems are EAC certified. Some of Trump's supporters have focused on Coomer as the supposed evil mastermind. View list by county(.pdf) and learn more about each system using the links below. Even for elections nights., Appel agreed. In counties that used Dominion systems, Biden got 888,259 votes to Trump's 851,069. The House Committee on Administration held a congressional hearing yesterday which was the first time the heads of the three major vendors, representing at least 80 percent of U.S. voting machines, appeared together for questioning. Fact-checkers have debunked claims that the explosion was the result of a missile strike. This is bogus. More:Fact check: No, Joe Biden's brother-in-law does not own Dominion Voting Systems. Across the country on Christmas Eve, a printing press company in New York burned to the ground. "I've been threatened more times than I could even count. Jim Greer, associate vice president for corporate communications at AT&T, was blunt in an email response to PolitiFact: "That is not true," he wrote. The bomb was located in a recreational vehicle owned by Warner. Powell is named in Coomer's suit, along with the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Examples can be seen here , here and here . "It does appear that the intent was more destruction than death," said David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, inan interview on NBC's "Today." Kevin Monahan is a producer for the NBC News Investigative Unit. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Posts online claim that the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville was an attempt to cover up election fraud because AT&T was conducting an audit of Dominion Voting Systems machines and that. Dominion was the first to snap. In an email to PolitiFact, a Dominion spokesperson said the company and AT&T are calling on everyone to reject these baseless rumors: "Americans should continue to seek information from verifiable, trusted sources, such as law enforcement authorities.". (Read more about, Breaking news meme generators are frequently used online to create fabricated headlines and chyrons such as this one. This material may not be reproduced without permission. These are real, tangible things coming out of these baseless accusations.". This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. On Thursday night, the group performed their set at the Shed in Maryville, Tennessee, with all six of its members wearing dresses in protest of the state's newly enacted law on public drag performance. ES&S has repeatedly advertised its DS200 with internal modem a critical component to ES&Ss voting systems as being EAC certified when, in fact, it is not, the letter said. President Donald Trump's attorney Lin Wood reportedly experienced a series of ups and downs Sunday in a court battle to ensure Georgia elections officials do not wipe Dominion voting machines, and won a temporary restraining order following a night-time Zoom hearing. So we will clear it up: Its fake. But that is an overstatement, according to a team of 10 independent cybersecurity experts who specialize in voting systems and elections. Dominion representatives havealsodenouncedthe conspiracy theory, calling it another "bizarre lie" with "zero credibility.". The post implies that the bombing was an attempt to stop the audit and cover up voter fraud. Sumit Ganguli is the CEO and Member of the Board at GAVS Technologies. ( here and here ). Skoglund says those include the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. . On January 8, it filed a defamation suit against pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell, seeking $1.3 billion in damages. However, there are no news reports available online that mention that the business was involved with an investigation related to the election, and Google searches for any mention of the company and an investigation into ballot fraud from the start of September to the date of the fire do not reveal even online rumors to that effect circulating before the fire broke out (here), The companys Facebook page has addressed rumors that have spread since the fire, saying: To the misinformed people on @Twitter and @instagram #cityblueimaging does not print #ballots (here). The RV was parked on Second Avenue in Nashville, outside an AT&Ttransmission building, among other businesses and residences. But none of this is true. There can still be security holes that allow hackers to get into the phone network.. An executive for a voting machine company that has been the target of conspiracy theories in the aftermath of Donald Trump's 2020 election loss and been baselessly accused of swinging the. Serious political tensions and fears of COVID-19 have led record-breaking numbers of Americans to vote early this year, either by mail or in person. It's the first . The post's creator did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. While the companys website states that zero of its voting tabulators are connected to the internet, ES&S told NBC News 14,000 of their DS200 tabulators with online modems are currently in use around the country. Some on social media have speculated that AT&T was contracted to audit Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology supplier that has become central to false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. We therefore again respectfully request that EAC investigate and take action to correct this serious issue., Once you add that modem, you are de-certifying it, Skoglund said. First, QAnon. On Christmas Day, an RV in Nashville, Tennessee, exploded, severelydamaging many of the buildings around it in the explosion. "You can see as theres a line flying in, theres a little bit of a glow and then theres the explosion," a narrator says in the video. There was no evidence of a shooting, but both officers and witnesses heard a warning blare from the RV: "Evacuate now. The following three posts were flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. AT&T not conducting voting machine audit near Nashville explosion site. "So, the explosion just happened to be at the AT&T location where they just so happen to control the cooling system for the super computer and house the dominion voting machines and drives for forensic audit", "Wait, the bombing in Nashville was at the AT&T data center right after they got the contract to audit the Dominion voting machines?," one from Dec. 26 reads. A Dominion spokeswoman said other company employees have also gone to more secure locations, been threatened and been digitally stalked. The claim: Dominion Voting Systems is tied up in the Nashville bombing, based on the affected AT&T building's ownership and that the cellular company was contracted to audit Dominion's. Cerberus Capital Management, the firm named in the posts, does not own Dominion, nor does it own the company that does own Dominion, Staple Street Capital. Heres why:In the wake of theChristmas morning explosion in Nashville, Tenn., a baseless conspiracy theory startedcirculatingonlinethat claims Nashvilles downtown AT&T complex, which was damaged in the blast, had gotten a contract to conduct a "forensic audit" on Dominion Voting Systems machines. "Conspiracy theory links false claim of AT&T election audit to bombing, Fact check: Hugo Chvez's family does not own Dominion Voting Systems, Fact check: Dominion voting machines didn't delete votes from Trump, switch them to Biden, Live politics updates: Dominion says it may sue over election conspiracy theories, subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy, Cision PR Newswire archive, July 16, 2018, ", The Tennessean archives, July 23, 2004, ", News Channel 5 Nashville archives, Dec. 18, 2006, ", Email correspondence withJim Greer, a spokesperson for AT&T, Email correspondence with a spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems. Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, which sells electronic voting hardware and software, is suing both Fox News Network and parent company Fox Corp. for defamation. Spokespersons for both Dominion Voting Systems and AT&T told Reuters by email that claims that Dominion voting machines related to the election were held in the building were untrue. Once they had identified such systems, they contacted the relevant election officials and also provided the information to reporter Kim Zetter, who published the findings in Vices Motherboard in August. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Skoglund said that they identified only one company among the systems they detected on line, ES&S. Staple Street Capital took part in a deal with management to acquire Dominion in 2018 (here and here). The Genesius Times describes itself as the "most reliable source of fake news on the planet" and that it strives "to provide the most up-to-date, accurate fake news on the Internet,", "Nashville explosion a missile strike??" That team of election security experts say that last summer, they discovered some systems are, in fact, online. Both sit on Dominion's board. "The voting machine lobby, led by the biggest company, ES&S, believes they are above the law," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Intelligence Committee who co-signed the letter.. "You may want to read a book some day to learn about my reference to rising like a #phoenix. And thats not what were about. The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies. In 2020, the controversy revolves around Dominion's voting machines, sparked by an erroneous result out of a Michigan county that's been blamed on human error, allegations of rigged Dominion software in Georgia and the fact Texas rejected Dominion's system due to security concerns. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Americans should continue to seek information from verifiable, trusted sources, such as law enforcement authorities, Dominion Voting Systems added. Dominion has played a central role in a number of unfounded conspiracy theories alleging election fraud, from foreign ownership to switching votes from one candidate to another. The row housed Simply the Best $10 Boutique at 176 (here), Ensemble boutique at 174 (www.ensemblenashville.com/) and the Pride & Glory Tattoo Parlor at 172 (www.prideandglorytattoo.com/), as well as apartments on the upper floors (here). . Voting Systems in Tennessee | Tennessee Secretary of State Proposed Constitutional Amendments Voting Systems in Tennessee View list by county (.pdf) and learn more about each system using the links below. All rights reserved. While federal investigators are still looking into the bombing, law enforcement officials have said Warner was responsible and died in the blast. More:Neighbor recalls warning, countdown before Nashville explosion. Newsmax TV aired a stunning fact-check on Monday of claims made on the network about voting companies used in the 2020 presidential election. But now, some state officials worry that the machines may pose a security risk and are pushing to have the modems removed. 2023 Tennessee Secretaryof State |Web and Social Media Policies. However, both AT&T and Dominion have disclaimed the notion that the former company was engaged in audit of the latter, or that any Dominion-related systems were being moved to Nashville in preparation for a "forensic audit" (by anyone). The coalition says it is no longer certain that the number of states is correct, so the figure has been removed from the article. The Nashville outlet found . The explosion disrupted AT&T wireless and internet services, leading to widespread 911 issues in the Nashville area, The Tennessean reported. Owners of Dominion Voting Systems,(the company many people are accusing of voter fraud) are former executives from Cerebus," another post reads. https://archive.is/qqjBh Paul E. Singer-Elliott Management, aka "The Vulture", reportedly controls CNN parent, AT&T, as well as Twitter. Then Acting Undersecretary for Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security Jeanette Manfra said those words in 2017, testifying before Congress while she was responsible for the security of the nations voting system. Now the process of counting these votes . reads the post caption from Red Pill Radio, a Facebook account that bears the slogan of the, However, the firm cited in that version of the claim Cerberus Capital Management doesnt own Dominion nor is it connected to Staple Street Capital, which, PolitiFact's partnership with Facebook here, Our ethics policy for PolitiFact journalists, WRAL partners with PolitiFact NC to fact check political stories. We kept hearing from election officials that voting machines were never on the internet, he said. Some posts take the claim a step further, alleging that the former owner of the building was a board member of a firm that owns Dominion. But none of this is true. Skoglund and his team developed a tool that scoured the internet to see if the central computers that program voting machines and run the entire election process at the precinct level were online. In February, Dominion filed a lawsuit against Lindell and his company, alleging he defamed them by repeatedly claiming to have evidence their voting machines fraudulently flipped votes. AT&T got a contract to do forensic audit on Dominion voting machines and those machines were being moved to Nashville this past week, read one post. TheBatman-shaped skyscraper was first owned by Prefco XIV, a limited partnership ofPitney Bowes, which bought the building in 1994 for $100.8 million, according to the building's deed. Federal officials have identified the man believed to be behind the bombing, and they are working to discern a motive. The company, which sells electronic voting hardware and software, contends that some Fox News employees deliberately amplified false claims by Trump supporters that Dominion machines had changed . The National Institute of Standards and Technology, which provides cybersecurity frameworks for state and local governments and other organizations, recommends that voting systems should not have wireless network connections. All of these businesses were reported to be damaged in the blast (here). ", Dominion Voting Systems Employee Sues Trump Campaign And Allies, Alleging Defamation, Former Election Security Official Says It Will Take Years To Undo Disinformation, Barr Says No Need For Special Counsel For Hunter Biden Probe, Election Fraud Claims. "The specific steps taken would depend on the recommendation and the timeline required to make changes effectively.. Heres more information on Facebooks fact-checking program: https://www.facebook.com/help/1952307158131536, Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Some of that money was spent on tabulators with wireless modems. Then, a plume of smoke rises behind three light poles. On Tuesday, Coomer sued the Trump campaign and a number of allies, alleging defamation. NBC News asked the two other major manufacturers how many of their tabulators with modems were currently in use. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. Shasta will be the first of 40 California counties that used Dominion in the November 2022 election to drop the voting system, Shasta County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen told the . "The loud speaker was to warn people that the bomb was going to go off.. 5:30a on Christmas morning was picked to ensure that nobody was around.. With the 2020 presidential election only ten months away, Appel and Skoglund believe all modems can and should be removed from election systems. The bomb was located in a recreational vehicle that Warner owned. Behind it is the notion that if voting systems are not online, hackers will have a harder time compromising them. Other posts on social media have gone a step further, alleging that Dominion is tied to the bombing through ownership of the affected AT&T building. Kevin Skoglund, senior technical advisor at the National Election Defense Coalition. Tre Hargett was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to serve as Tennessees 37th secretary of state in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, 2017, and 2021. Recently, however, there are signs that elections companies, like some election officials, are pushing back against the false accusations. "So, the explosion just happened to be at the AT&T location where they just so happen to control the cooling system for the super computer and house the dominion voting machines and drives for forensic audit", "Wait, the bombing in Nashville was at the AT&T data center right after they got the contract to audit the Dominion voting machines?,"onefrom Dec. 26 reads. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. "Dominion and AT&T have both called on the media and the public to reject the baseless rumors circulating on social media, which suggest without evidence that there was some election-related connection to the Nashville explosion," a spokesperson for Dominion told USA TODAY. "Thats an interesting coincidence.". The Poynter Institute Menu. According to the post, that firm ownedthe AT&T building outside of which the Christmas bombing occurred. Immediately, Coomer knew things would blow up. These are conspiracies manufactured out of whole cloth.. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Posts online claim that the Christmas Day bombing in Nashville was an attempt to cover up election fraud because AT&T was conducting an audit of Dominion Voting Systems machines and that the equipment was recently relocated to the companys building that was damaged in the blast. And I don't know that all these jurisdictions are aware of that because ES&S is advertising otherwise.. That agreement is long over, and they no longer have the . Those networks are among the defendants Coomer is suing. APS ASSESSMENT: False. Some posts take the claim a step further, alleging that the former owner of the building was a board member of a firm that owns Dominion. A Facebook post (here) shared more than a thousand times has falsely claimed: In New York a printing press company, under investigation for printing and shipping fake voting ballots into Pennsylvania, burned to the ground Xmas morning.. Owens, the other co-founder of Staple Street Capital,did not work for Cerberus, despite the post's claim. The company put the building back on the market shortly thereafter; MetLife Inc., throughsubsidiary Prefco Fourteen, now owns the building, public records show. More:Fact check: No, Joe Biden's brother-in-law does not own Dominion Voting Systems. The post also mentions the Kraken or supercomputer and says that the cooling system for this computer was located in the AT&T building. The largest manufacturer of voting machines, ES&S, told NBC News their systems are protected by firewalls and are not on the public internet. But both Skoglund and Andrew Appel, a Princeton computer science professor and expert on elections, said such firewalls can and have been breached. But the company did not account for the new voting centers, so the Williamson County. Let's start here: The man behind the Dec. 25 bombing in downtown Nashville, Tenn., died of COVID-19, according to a popular and wrong Facebook post. the post reads. Coomer oversees product strategy and security for Dominion Voting Systems, the Denver-based company that has suddenly found itself at the center of many of President Trump's false claims about November's election, spread by allies and pro-Trump media. He was present when the bomb went off, and he perished in the bombing," Cochran said. Staple Street Capital has a managing director and co-founder named Stephen Owens. DNA found at the scene matched Warner's, according to an FBI press release. The FBI confirmed that a man named Anthony Warner was responsible for the bombing and was killed in the blast. As of Friday, a motive in the bombing remained under investigation by the FBI, the ATF and Metro Nashville police. Did City Blue Imaging Print Voting Ballots, Then Burn Down? A Dominion voting machine in Georgia. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. US Elections were November 3, 2020. However, he is not tied to Joe Biden and is not his sister Valerie Biden Owens husband.