Thread by @EvanDonovan

BREAKING: Armed men dressed as security guards claiming to be with the Trump campaign showed up today at the downtown St. Pete early voting location today, according to @VotePinellas Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus.

@WFLA #BattlegroundFlorida
wfla.com/news/pinellas-…

"The sheriff told me the persons who were dressed in these security uniforms had indicated to sheriff's deputies that they belonged to a licensed security company and they indicated, and this has not been confirmed yet, that they were hired by the Trump campaign," Marcus said.

Marcus, a Republican, is running to keep her seat after being appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in May when longtime supervisor Deborah Clarke retired.

Pinellas Co. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, also a Republican, is running for re-election as well.

8 On Your Side is awaiting a statement from the Trump campaign.

Marcus said Gualtieri assured her there would be deputies at the early voting location tomorrow, which is located at 501 First Ave. North in St. Petersburg.

@WFLA #BattlegroundFlorida #Sayfie

“The sheriff and I take this very seriously,” Marcus said. “Voter intimidation, deterring voters from voting, impeding a voter’s ability to cast a ballot in this election is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any way shape, or form."

@WFLA #BattlegroundFlorida #Sayfie

*Just yesterday* I happened to interview Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri about this exact type of voter intimidation, and his plan to thwart it.

@WFLA #BattlegroundFlorida #Sayfie
wfla.com/election/tampa…

"I just don’t want to get too deep into the specifics because we’re trying to balance it,” Gualtieri told me. “But I’ll say it’s a combination of uniformed personnel who will be in the area and also we’re gonna use some undercover personnel just to monitor the situation.”

Marcus told @WFLAChip: "I've never seen this before in my 17 years as an election administrator. This activity is absolutely prohibited by Florida law. If we see this kind of activity, we will take immediate action. It's important our voters know it's safe to cast a ballot."

Re: their intentions, Marcus tells @WFLAChip: "I don't want to speculate, all I know is that if a voter feels that this is inappropriate, or feels threatened or intimidated, we need to react to that, and that's what we did today."

@WFLA #BattlegroundFlorida #Sayfie

UPDATE: I just received a statement from @thea_mcdonald, Deputy National Press Secretary for the @realDonaldTrump campaign.

"“The Campaign did not hire these individuals nor did the Campaign direct them to go to the voting location.”

@WFLA #BattlegroundFlorida #Sayfie