Authorities in Portland believe the person suspected of trying to ignite fires at ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest might be planning more arson attacks.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner said it was “very possible the suspect intends to continue these targeted attacks across the area.”
The same person is suspected of using an incendiary device to ignite two separate fires at ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington early on Monday morning. Investigators believe the same person is responsible for another attempted arson attack on a ballot box in Vancouver earlier in October.
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Benner described the suspect as a white man in his 30s, with balding or very short hair and a medium to thin build. Additionally investigators believe he has a “wealth of experience in metal fabrication and welding,” Benner said.
Police previously released photos of the suspect’s car at the crime scene, and described it again on Wednesday as a dark-colored Volvo sedan made between 2001 and 2004. The car was missing its front license plate and front Volvo emblem, Benner said on Wednesday.
The fires were extinguished by first responders in Oregon and Washington on Monday morning, and bomb disposal units investigated and cleared the incendiary devices.
Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said that fire suppressants in the Oregon box protected all but three ballots inside. Officials said the county would contact those voters about replacing their ballots.
However, the ballots in Vancouver were heavily damaged. In a news release on Wednesday, Clark County confirmed that 488 ballots inside the box were damaged. Six were so burned the original voter could not be identified, and election officials said some ballots may have completely burned to ash.
Sources told The New York Times and later the Associated Press the incendiary devices had the phrase “Free Gaza” written on them, although Benner did not comment on this on Wednesday.
