Central Florida lawmakers briefed on foreign election interference efforts

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy and Congressman Darren Soto heard from federal officials Friday about actions by Russia and Iran to interfere in Florida’s election.

One week after Rep. Murphy and Rep. Michael Waltz learned of foreign influence in the 2020 election, they sent a letter to the FBI and Director of National Intelligence demanding more information.

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“When foreign adversaries seek to sow discord in our elections, we as Americans- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents- should be offended,” Murphy says.

Last week, it was revealed that foreign actors were pretending to be a far-right group in order to intimidate voters.

Rather than sit on this revelation, the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe came forward.

“We see vast improvements from four years ago when we saw information trickle in slowly about Russian actors intervening in our elections,” Rep. Soto said.

Rep. Waltz, who requested the briefing with Rep. Murphy, said in a statement, “Today’s briefing was very welcomed and confirmed that the national security community is fully committed to working with federal, state and local officials to protect voters from foreign interference .”

READ: IG Report: U.S. Election Systems secure, infrastructure needs protection

Waltz, Murphy, and Soto all warn that the threats will continue, and Florida voters will have to remain aware that they’re still targets.

“We have to stay vigilant and continue to conduct oversight.”

Cox Media Group