A pipe bomb was discovered at an Iowa polling place on Tuesday, officials said.
After voting had begun for an Ankeny Community School District special election, a couple of people walking their dog noticed the device on the lawn outside the voting center and alerted staff there, according to Jamie Fitzgerald, the Polk County auditor and commissioner of elections.
The banquet hall where voting was taking place was evacuated, and the Iowa State Fire Marshal and agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were called to the scene.
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“Today at approximately 9:25 a.m., Ankeny Police officers were called to the Lakeside Center, 400 NW Lakeshore Drive, in reference to a suspicious device. When officers arrived they observed what appeared to be a pipe bomb. The Lakeside Center was being used as a polling location today for the Ankeny Community School District special election and officers immediately evacuated the building,” the city of Ankeny said in a statement on Tuesday. “After a perimeter was established, the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s office was contacted and they sent personnel to further investigate the device. Also, on scene were agents from local ATF and FBI offices. The device was made safe at roughly 11:50 a.m. Investigators collected evidence from the scene and the Lakeside Center has reopened.”
In an early evening update, the city said: “Ankeny Police confirm the device located by the Lakeside Center today has been identified as a live pipe bomb. This pipe bomb was rendered safe by a technician from the State Fire Marshal’s office and an investigation has begun in regards to this incident. There has been no other pipe bombs or devices found or reported in the city.”
Sgt. Corey Schneden, the Ankeny Police Department’s public information officer, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday afternoon that there were not yet any suspects in the case and that no arrests had been made. He added that the department was still in the “preliminary” phase of its investigation and that he had “no new information at this time.”
Schneden also cautioned that authorities do not know when the device was placed and warned people not to jump to conclusions.
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“I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today,” tweeted Rep. Cindy Axne, an Iowa Democrat. “This threat to our elections [is] unacceptable, and those responsible should be held accountable for this attempted violence against our democracy and its citizens.”
I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today.
This threat to our elections in unacceptable, and those responsible should be held accountable for this attempted violence against our democracy and its citizens. #IA03 https://t.co/37kORAcXcA
— Rep. Cindy Axne (@RepCindyAxne) March 3, 2021
