Krishnamoorthi Demands Answers After FBI Director Patel Refuses to Rule Out Deploying FBI Agents to Polling Places

WASHINGTON - Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) today demanded answers from Attorney General Todd Blanche after FBI Director Kash Patel repeatedly refused to rule out deploying FBI agents to polling places during the November midterm elections, the latest Trump Administration official to leave open the possibility of armed federal agents being sent to polling places on Election Day.

During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, Patel repeatedly declined to give senators an unequivocal commitment that FBI agents would not be stationed at or dispatched to polling places on Election Day. When Senator Richard Blumenthal pressed Patel to commit that zero agents would be present at polling locations, Patel instead declined to rule out deployments in response to reports of "problems" or "interference."

In the letter, Krishnamoorthi writes:

"This ambiguity is difficult to reconcile with federal law. Since 1948, 18 U.S.C. § 592 has made it a felony for any officer 'in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States' to order, bring, or keep 'armed men' at any place where a general election is held, absent the need to repel armed enemies of the United States. The penalty includes up to five years' imprisonment and disqualification from federal office. The Department's own manual on the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses has long construed that provision to reach armed federal agents, not merely military personnel."

Krishnamoorthi noted that Patel's testimony follows months of similar statements from senior Trump Administration officials. At his confirmation hearing, Blanche declined to categorically rule out armed federal agents at polling locations, while DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said armed federal law enforcement could be sent to polls in response to a "specific threat."
The letter also points to President Trump's July address claiming that hostile foreign nations could "rig" or "steal" American elections, despite the intelligence community's conclusion that there were no indications any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the 2020 voting process.

Krishnamoorthi writes:

"The purpose of that address was not to inform the public. It was to manufacture a national security predicate for federal intervention in the vote-casting process. This Administration is not responding to a threat to our elections. It is building the justification for one."

Krishnamoorthi requested that Blanche respond by September 24, 2026, to the following questions:

1. Does the Department of Justice have a written policy, consistent with past practice, prohibiting FBI agents from being stationed at or dispatched to polling places on Election Day absent a specific, credible report of a federal crime in progress? If so, please provide a copy.
2. Has that policy changed, been suspended, or been reinterpreted at any point during your tenure or Director Patel's tenure? If so, when, by whom, and why?
3. Did Director Patel or any other Department or FBI official communicate to John James, or any other candidate, party official, or campaign, that FBI personnel would have a "presence" in specific geographic areas of Michigan - or any other state - in the lead-up to the November election? If so, please describe the nature, purpose, and legal basis for that presence.
4. Will you commit, on behalf of the Department, that no FBI personnel will be stationed at or visibly deployed to polling places during voting hours on Election Day, absent a specific warrant or credible report of an ongoing federal crime?

Krishnamoorthi concludes:

"The American people deserve an unequivocal answer to a simple question: will armed federal agents be present at their polling places in November? Director Patel had every opportunity today to provide that assurance and did not. I trust that you, as the nation's chief law enforcement officer, will not permit that ambiguity to stand unaddressed."

Congressman Krishnamoorthi's letter is available here.