US govt: Iran behind fake Proud Boys voter intimidation emails

The US govt has stated that Iran is behind threatening emails sent to Democratic voters warning that they must vote for Trump or face consequences.

Over the past two days, voters registered as Democrats in Florida and Alaska have received voter intimidation emails claiming to be from the far-right group known as the Proud Boys.

These emails use the subject "Vote for Trump or Else" and warn Democratic votes that they must change their party to Republican and vote for President Trump, or the Proud Boys will come after them.

"We are in possession of all your information (email, address, telephone... everything). You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained into the entire voting infrastructure. You will for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us known you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted. I would take this seriously if I were you," the email reads.

Some of the emails being sent include the recipient's full name and mailing address, alluding that the information was obtained through hacked voter registration sites.

Another email seen by cybersecurity firm ProofPoint included a link to a video falsely depicting Proud Boys hackers hacking into voter registration databases, modifying records, and casting fraudulent ballots. This video, with personal information redacted by VICE, can be seen below.

US government attributes emails to Iran

In a press conference tonight, DNI John Ratcliffe warned that Iran and Russia have gained access to voter registration information and that Iran is using that information to send out these threatening emails.

"We would like to alert the public that we have identified that two foreign actors, Iran and Russia, have taken specific actions to influence public opinion relating to our elections."

"First, we have confirmed that some voter registration information has been obtained by Iran, and separately by Russia. This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos, and undermine your confidence in American democracy."

"To that end, we have already seen Iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest, and damage President Trump," DNI Ratcliffe stated in the press conference shared below.

It is not clear if Iran and Russia obtained the voter registration information by hacking into election systems, purchased the information from data scrapers, or downloaded it from hacking forums that are known to trade this information.

While Ratcliffe states that the videos illustrating election system hacks are not real, the Department of Homeland Security has recently warned state and local election officials of security holes in election system websites.

"A DHS official also said authorities had detected holes in state and local election websites and instructed those participating to patch their online services," reports The Washington Post.