FBI tight-lipped over investigation of primary Election Day text message blast

Two-and-a-half months ago, on the morning of Election Day primaries, many people received a text claiming US District 19 candidate Byron Donalds dropped out of the race.

He did not, and in fact, went on to win the Republican primary.

Donalds now faces Democrat Cindy Banyai for the congressional seat.

But that mysterious text is still under investigation by the FBI.

We reached out for an update, but as is standard, the FBI remains tight-lipped about the investigation.

The agency takes protecting your vote very seriously.

We also asked Byron Donalds for an update. He says since the primary he has moved on from the texting incident to focus on his campaign.

“My job was to make sure I got elected and finish that job and then we’ll see what happens with the FBI after that,” Donalds said. “The last communication we had with them was, they received it and were looking into it.

He went on to say, “We actually want them to have a deliberative investigative process because you want to make sure the right person is held accountable.”

Holding people accountable is what the FBI does, but it does take time. With so much going on across the country and around the world regarding election security, the FBI has to carefully allot resources.

These types of investigations are typically held out of the public’s view, so no telling when we will hear anything, if we ever do.

MORE

• Unsolicited messages falsely claim Byron Donalds dropped out of Dist. 19 race
• Investigators likely to look into unsolicited text claiming Byron Donalds dropped out of race
• What happened? The text messages that shook up a SWFL primary day race