A Conspiracy Fueled Report Preceded ‘Black Pill’ Tulsi Gabbard’s Fulton County Election Raid

On Jan. 6, 2026, a group of election conspiracy theorists released a report detailing allegations that the 2020 presidential results in Georgia’s Fulton County were “falsely padded” with questionable ballots. A little over three weeks later, FBI agents raided the county’s offices and seized 700 boxes of voting records. 

This extraordinary raid has prompted widespread alarm amid a recent spate of comments from President Trump indicating that he might once again try to somehow disrupt the U.S. tradition of free and fair elections, including through attempts to “nationalize” or “take over” state-run votes. Democrats, noting the situation in Fulton County and ongoing federal occupations of blue cities, have warned Trump may attempt to meddle with vote counts or engage in widespread voter intimidation. Trump allies are also openly musing about the possibility of having ICE agents “surround the polls.”

Even with all of Trump’s other threats to the election system, the raid in Fulton County stands out as an extreme escalation. And there are multiple indications that this push from the White House is taking cues from the fixations of hardcore election conspiracy theorists. Even after Trump’s return to office, these diehards refuse to accept his loss in the 2020 election as legitimate and want the voting system overhauled to prevent any similar outcome in the future. And, in the wake of the raid, some of those extreme elements of the Trump base are rejoicing and predicting there is much more to come.

The “Fulton County Report of Investigation of the 2020 General Election” was billed as coming from the “Election Oversight Group” and dated Jan. 6, 2026. EOG is a supposed watchdog group that has repeatedly filed complaints against election officials in Georgia and produced research documents based on thoroughly debunked allegations. Some of the group’s past work was cited by Trump and his attorneys in 2024 as he defended himself against Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation and pressed his ultimately successful case for presidential immunity. There are indications this more recent EOG report also made its way to Trump’s team and even that it may have influenced the mysterious investigation that led to the Fulton County raid. 

Alleged fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia has been an obsession of various Trump allies who worked to contest his loss that year as he sought re-election following his first term. Despite the flood of wild theories about what may have happened, the Georgia election result was affirmed in three separate counts overseen by officials from Trump’s own party. Judges have also consistently rejected efforts to challenge the result in court due to a lack of real evidence. Nevertheless, members of the fringe continue to question the outcome, and those conspiracy theories now seem to be part of the Trump administration’s official justification as it tries to overhaul election infrastructure and reinvestigate past outcomes ahead of the coming campaigns. 

On Jan. 22, 2026, several days before the FBI raid, President Trump made a post on his Truth Social platform screengrabbing a tweet from Liz Harrington, who worked as a spokeswoman for his 2024 campaign. In her tweet, Harrington promoted a claim about “unsigned” voting records in Fulton County that had appeared in the EOG report. Harrington suggested this proved the 2020 election there was “all a fraud.”

Harrington, whose belief in 2020 election conspiracy theories long made her a controversial figure in Trump’s orbit, reportedly helped author the documents related to EOG research that were shared by Trump during the 2024 campaign. One EOG executive confirmed to TPM that Harrington had engaged with the group. Harrington did not respond to requests for comment from TPM about this latest EOG report, any role it might have played in the raid, and whether her tweet, later reposted by Trump on Truth Social, was the only way she brought the report to the president’s attention.

Kevin Moncla, who, TPM previously reported, has been associated with EOG in corporate records and was listed as an author of the 2026 Fulton County report, claims to have brought that research to the attention of DOJ officials. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, Moncla said he spoke with a U.S. attorney about some of the allegations in the EOG report prior to the raid. Moncla, who did not respond to a request for comment from TPM, also told the newspaper that another person who worked on the report was in touch with officials. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly tasked Thomas Albus, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri to investigate so-called “election integrity” cases. Albus oversaw the search warrant used to execute the Fulton County raid. His office did not immediately respond to questions from TPM about whether he engaged with Moncla or anyone else from EOG. 

The White House has said the raid is part of a broader inquiry being led by Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel. In a statement to TPM, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle rejected the idea that questions about the 2020 race are baseless conspiracy theories. 

“President Trump pledged to secure America’s elections, and he has tasked the most talented team of patriots to do just that. Efforts by the failing legacy media to sow internal division are a desperate distraction that will not work,” Ingle said. “President Trump has full confidence in his entire team. DNI Gabbard and FBI Director Patel are working together to implement the President’s election integrity priorities, and their work continues to serve him and the entire country well.” 

The White House did not directly respond to questions about whether any administration officials were in touch with the EOG or aware of its report. The FBI declined to comment. 

Gabbard has said she was dispatched to the scene of the ballot seizure by the president and Bondi. She was also on the phone with Trump in its aftermath. In response to questions from TPM about the ballot seizure, Gabbard’s office pointed to a letter she wrote following questions from Congress about her participation in the raid. In that letter, Gabbard noted her “presence was requested by the president” and argued she had “broad statutory authority” to be involved in “election security” matters. The press secretary for the office of the director of national intelligence also provided a statement. 

“President Trump’s directive to secure our elections was clear, and DNI Gabbard has and will proudly continue to take actions within her authorities, alongside our interagency partners, including the FBI, to support ensuring the integrity of our elections,” the press secretary said. 

Gabbard’s office did not respond to questions about whether she was in contact with EOG or aware of their report. 

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Out on the fringe, election deniers certainly seem pleased by Gabbard’s involvement. They’re also hopeful the Fulton County raid is the beginning of something much bigger. 

On Sunday, conspiracy streamer Alex Jones, host of “InfoWars,” took the day off. Some of the crew who filled in for him said Jones needed to rest his gravelly voice. One of the understudies who stepped up in Jones’ absence was Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right militant group, the Oath Keepers. Rhodes spent hours on different streaming shows associated with Jones; “InfoWars” operation on Sunday talking about Fulton County and praising Gabbard. 

As he expressed optimism about the raid, Rhodes said he lacked faith in many elements of the administration due to the incomplete disclosure of files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which he called “kabuki theater.” However, Rhodes repeatedly described Gabbard as an exception. 

“I don’t trust anything out of the DOJ or the FBI at all. The only person I trust … in the intelligence agencies is Tulsi Gabbard,” Rhodes said. “That’s it. And her team. That’s it. Nobody else.”

Rhodes later suggested that Gabbard’s role in the raid made him believe it would seriously address the extreme Trump base’s grievances related to election infrastructure. 

“I was glad to see Tulsi there, because otherwise, I would’ve been like a lot of other black pill MAGA people. Like, we don’t believe anything we see out of the DOJ or the, or the FBI — would think it’s this window dressing,” Rhodes said, adding, “But I think Tulsi being in there … sends a different message.”

Rhodes was a major figure in the efforts to fight and overturn Trump’s 2020 loss. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 attack before having that sentence commuted by Trump. Since getting out of prison, Rhodes has returned to pro-Trump activism. 

During his various appearances, Rhodes was joined by people he described as “2020 election fraud OGs.” The roster included Georgia activist Garland Favorito, who is listed as a contributor to the EOG Fulton County report. Favorito brought along a video clip which seemed to show an AI-generated woman praising the raid. 

“We worked so hard for almost six years for our legal right to these election records,” the woman said. “Thank you, DOJ and FBI, for seizing Georgia election records, so we’ll have truth. Hopefully you’ll return to Georgia and pick up a few more truckloads.”

As he interviewed another right wing activist named Kristen Meghan Kelly, Rhodes said he wanted the raid to be “the wedge that blows open the deep state in this country.” He also claimed he had seen Gabbard at an event in August and suggested his interactions with her were another reason for his optimism. 

“She was at Ron Paul’s 90th birthday party, we were both there and we saw her there,” Rhodes said to Kelly. “So yeah, I think she’s carrying a torch and her presence at the raid, the FBI raid in Georgia, is what gives me hope. … Her being involved lets me know that this is real.”

Kelly agreed.

“She’s a badass,” Kelly said of Gabbard. “She’s not risk averse. … This type of action is what is going to finally feed the hunger for accountability. And there’s a lot of accountability that is needed.”

Gabbard’s office did not respond to a question about whether she had been in contact with Rhodes. 

The various InfoWars broadcasts were peppered with advertisements for “combat daggers,” “trench knives,” “folding knives,” and questionable supplements including “ultra methylene blue.” At one point, as another host, Rob Dew, plugged Jones’ signature blend of the controversial blue serum, Rhodes also boasted of having been in contact with another member of Trump’s Cabinet, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. Rhodes would go on to say he believed Gabbard should be “our number one pick for president in 2028” and that she and Kennedy would ultimately form a “fantastic ticket” together. 

However, first there was InfoWars business to attend to. 

“Did you take your methylene blue this morning?” Dew asked Rhodes. 

“I have not,” Rhodes said. “Let’s get some done.”

“Basically, what it does is it helps your mitochondria, uh, process energy better,” Dew explained. 

Medical experts don’t necessarily agree with that claim. However, as ever, Rhodes and the others on the fringe have their own set of beliefs. 

“Robert Kennedy Jr. likes it, I like it,” Rhodes said of the supplement. “You know, I just saw him in D.C. It was at the MAHA event for his birthday.”

HHS did not respond to a request for comment about whether Kennedy had been in contact with Rhodes. Dew also didn’t press the question. He had another priority at the moment and called out to assistants offscreen.

“Bring in the liquid!”