A senior FBI official in Atlanta was removed from his post earlier this month after raising objections to a renewed federal investigation tied to the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, according to reporting from MS NOW.
Paul Brown, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office, was forced out after pushing back on what he viewed as a politically motivated effort to revisit claims that the election was rigged.
Brown reportedly objected to directives from the Justice Department calling for searches and seizures connected to a probe into Fulton County’s election administration.
The investigation centers on President Donald Trump’s long-standing assertion that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him in Georgia, a claim repeatedly rejected by audits, recounts, and courts.
Brown’s removal cleared the way for a dramatic escalation, culminating in an FBI raid last week on the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center.
Agents seized roughly 700 boxes of records related to the 2020 election, despite the results having already been reviewed multiple times.
The raid drew immediate attention due to the presence of Tulsi Gabbard, an unusual appearance for the nation’s top intelligence official at a domestic FBI operation.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, questioned Gabbard’s involvement and warned the situation should alarm Americans.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Gabbard was acting within her authority to protect election security and cited concerns about vulnerabilities in voting systems.
The legal footing of the raid also raised questions after reports indicated the search warrant was obtained by a U.S. attorney from Missouri rather than a Georgia-based prosecutor.
Brown had been appointed to lead the Atlanta office in February of last year and oversaw all FBI investigations and personnel across the state.
Sources told MS NOW that he objected both to the scope of the investigation and to what he perceived as its political intent.
His ouster has intensified scrutiny of FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump ally now leading the bureau, per the Daily Beast.
Critics argue the Georgia raid reflects Patel’s long-held approach of sidelining internal resistance while pursuing investigations aligned with Trump’s grievances over the 2020 election.
Local officials responded sharply, with Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts calling the investigation an act of intimidation.
“Any honest review of these files will show what every previous review has shown,” Pitts said, asserting the county’s elections were fair and lawful.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said election integrity remains a priority for the administration, but declined to explain why records from a four-year-old election are now being targeted.
The episode has fueled concerns that renewed scrutiny of 2020 election records could influence future contests, particularly as changes to Georgia law now allow state officials to suspend local election administrators following investigations.
