Tallahassee, Nov 1: Lockdown in election building (false bomb alarm)

[Woody Box]

There are already two threads on this matter, but they are archived, i.e. not kickable, so I'm reposting this because it's possibly relevant to the Curtis case.

The incident was reported in the local press. I'll give a short summary:

The central tabulating of the Florida votes was to be done in the RA Gray Building in Tallahassee. In the early morning of November 1, a security guard noticed a "vibrating package" in a storage room which he suspected to be a bomb. He alerted the police. The building was evacuated, and 200 arriving employees were kept outside, in a building across the street. The police searched the building for three hours with bomb-sniffing dogs etc. The vibrating package turned out to be a batch of documents blown by an air ventilator. False alarm.

Find the sources here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x88033

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x88670

The reports agree in the big outline of the incident, but differ on details, leaving some unanswered questions:

What was the exact nature of the package? Was it a loosely bundled batch of paper documents, or was it in a closed container (bag, box)?

How is it possible that the security guard interpreted the flapping papers as a ticking bomb? Quite a different sound, isn't it?

The security guard (or the police?) noticed the "vibration" of the package - was it so dangerous looking that they didn't take a closer look ( - they would have seen that it was completely harmless)?

What's about this robot story? There is only one uncorroborated message, true or not?

And, most important:
The first action of the arriving bomb squad team was surely to examine the package - once they detected its harmlessness, why didnt' they cancel the bomb search in the building? It was searched for three hours with bomb-sniffing dogs etc. For three hours? What for? They knew now it was false alarm.

I'm pretty convinced this "bomb" was planted by someone who wanted to get unhindered access to the building, how do you?

[Seldona]

1. If one were to want to 'fake' a bomb threat,

I doubt it would have been in the form of a box of papers by an air vent.

Much easier to just have the gaurd in on it, and make something up afterward.

If that is the case at all.

In all actuality, nothing would have had to have been planted.

They simply could have called it in from a public phone and the same thing would have happened.

But either way, the lock down is strange taken in context with the programmer's story.

Alot of things are in that context..

[Woody Box]

2. I agree

In all actuality, nothing would have had to have been planted.

The reports on this package are so contradictory that I doubt there was a package at all.

First, there was the false alarm. Later, they invented the corresponding story. This is my opinion.

[Seldona]

3. Well it could simply be that

some overzealous security guard really did mistake a box of papers for a bomb.

Who knows at this point?

I want to get this programmer's story down and go from there.

[Woody Box]

4. That still doesn't explain

why they searched the building for THREE hours.

I guess they checked the "bomb" first? And after realizing it was a harmless bundle of papers, why did they continue to check the whole building? To find other fake bombs?

This story stinks.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Have you sent this to Madsen? this is what he is looking for n/t

[annabanana]

6. any kind of "lockdown" in any building with central tabulation

equipment within a week of the election (before or after) should be investigated. This is probably where most of the damage was done.

[sherilocks]

7. Yesterday's AP story on Common Cause's complaint

gives some insight into the lockdown.

According to this AP story Glenda Hood claims that they received a few reports of minor problems. That's because people attempting to call her office on election day received no answer to their calls. If there was a special election hotline to field complaint calls, most people were not aware of it. They were trying to call Hood's office directly. Hood's office was shut down because of a "terrist" threat.
--------------------

Common Cause Wants To Examine 2004 Florida Election

<snip>
The group fielded about 210,000 calls nationally, and about one in 10 was from Florida.
Officials with the Secretary of State's office say the state had an extremely successful election with few reports of minor problems. They say most of the calls to the state's election hotline were from voters seeking general information.


http://www.local6.com/news/3973606/detail.html