FBI raids Ohio voter group office and questions staff

Federal agents searched the offices of a prominent Ohio voter registration organization and questioned its staff across the state this week, an action the group's leadership has denounced as an intimidation campaign. The FBI executed a search warrant at the Cleveland headquarters of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on Thursday, seizing documents and computer files, according to a board member.

Agents also visited the homes of the organization's leaders and staff in multiple cities, including Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Youngstown. Prentiss Haney, a board member for the grassroots group, said agents questioned people at their doors, sometimes in front of their families, and asked if they were committing voter fraud. Haney characterized the visits, which he said often occurred without warrants, as straight-up intimidation tactics designed to harass regular Ohioans who help people participate in elections.

The focus of the federal investigation was not officially disclosed. The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment on the operation. However, a person familiar with the matter said investigators were examining potential fraud violations. The Ohio...