Police in Philadelphia are probing an alleged plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Thursday night after receiving a tip that a group traveling north from Virginia in a Hummer planned to storm the location of vote-counting efforts.
Police arrest two in alleged plot to attack Philly voting center: What we know
The men were arrested outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where vote counting is taking place.
No one was harmed; the police arrested two men in connection with the alleged plot, and no attack or other violence was carried out.
Photographs taken by Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jessica Griffin and Hamilton Nolan of In These Times Magazine show that the Hummer in question had decals linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
The arrests come hours after President Trump alleged the ongoing count in Pennsylvania and other states was illegal and his son called for “total war,” but it’s important to be clear that the men’s motivations for the alleged plot remain unknown.
Here’s what we do and don’t know about the situation:
What we know
- Two men were taken into custody in Philadelphia on Thursday night, according to CNN and Philadelphia’s Action News.
- The individuals drove a Hummer from Virginia to Pennsylvania, according to multiple sources. The Philadelphia radio station KYW and a journalist for In These Times Magazine reported the vehicle sported a sticker supporting the QAnon conspiracy theory.
- Action News and KYW report the arrests were made Thursday night after police were alerted to a potential plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where vote counting is taking place. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, police were alerted to be on the lookout for multiple people coming to Philadelphia from Virginia Beach to “straighten things out” at polling places.
- According to Philadelphia’s Fox 29, several weapons, including an AR-15, were found in the men’s vehicle.
What we don’t know
- Exactly how many people were in the vehicle
- The individuals’ motivations or planned activities
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