Feds concerned about armed people at Arizona ballot boxes
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says reports of people watching ballot boxes in Arizona, sometimes armed or wearing ballistic vests, raise serious concerns about voter intimidation as it stepped into a lawsuit over the monitoring. The statement Monday from the Justice Department comes days after a federal judge refused to bar a group from monitoring the outdoor drop boxes in the suburbs of Phoenix. The federal government says the First Amendment doesn’t protect threats or intimidation directed at voters. The new court filing runs counter to a Friday order that found there wasn’t enough evidence the monitors were a true threat and stopping them could violate their free speech.
