Road To 270: Police Arrests Armed Men Who Were Trying To Deliver Fake Ballots In Philadelphia
Two armed Virginia men who were arrested Thursday outside the Philadelphia Convention Center were “coming to deliver a truck full of fake ballots” to the city, CNN affiliate KYW reported, citing prosecutors.
The centre is one of the places where election workers have been counting votes from the 2020 general election, which includes the race for president.
Text messages reveal that the men were concerned about the tallying of votes at the convention centre, prosecutors said, according to KYW.
Antonio LaMotta, 61, and Joshua Macias, 42, both of Chesapeake, Virginia, were arrested Thursday night outside the centre on suspicion of carrying handguns in Pennsylvania without permits, authorities said.
Philadelphia police said they found the men Thursday night after receiving a tip that people with firearms were heading to the Pennsylvania Convention Center in a silver Hummer truck.
Officers found a silver Hummer a block from the centre — parked and unoccupied — around 10:20 p.m. Thursday, about seven minutes before finding the men, who acknowledged the Hummer was theirs, police said.
Both men were carrying loaded handguns, and police found an AR-type rifle in the Hummer, authorities said at a news conference Friday.
About 160 rounds of ammunition were found in the weapons and the vehicle, authorities said.
Stickers and a hat with logos of the QAnon conspiracy movement were found in the vehicle, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
LaMotta and Macias were charged with having a concealed firearm without a license and carrying a firearm on a public street or public property, Krasner said.
“This alarming incident is still very much under investigation regarding additional charges,” Krasner said.
LaMotta and Macias were arraigned Friday night, and a judge set bail at $750,000 each, Krasner’s spokeswoman Jane Roh said.
Details about the alleged fake ballots — including where they came from, whether they were found in the Hummer, or what was marked on them — weren’t immediately available.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the men had legal representation.
CNN has sought comment from the Philadelphia Public Defenders Office and LaMotta’s relatives.
A woman who was travelling with the men has not been arrested, Krasner said.
