Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Man BURNS ballot box in Boston, gets arrested, as authorities insist most of the votes inside were fine

Man BURNS ballot box in Boston, gets arrested, as authorities insist most of the votes inside were fine

A Boston man was arrested for allegedly using an incendiary device to torch a ballot dropbox after he was spotted in the vicinity hours after the votes caught fire. State officials have demanded increased security for the boxes.

Worldy Armand, 39, was arrested and charged with “willful and malicious burning” on Sunday evening after police connected him to the apparent arson attempt on the box outside the main branch of the Boston Public Library.

The blaze was discovered around 4am on Sunday morning when smoke was seen coming from the early voting ballot box. Firefighters filled the box with water to extinguish the fire.

Armand is believed to have used an “incendiary device” to start the fire, Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth William Galvin told local media on Sunday, pointing to severe damage to the plastic lining of the box.

Galvin has called for the FBI to investigate “what appears to be a deliberate attack” on the ballot box, urging local officials across the state to deploy security guards, video surveillance, and other measures – including frequent emptying of drop boxes – to prevent a repeat incident.

The Boston Police Department’s Drug Control Unit spotted Armand near Copley Square, where the attempted ballot-burning took place, on Sunday night and picked him up on an open warrant from the nearby town of Ipswich for receiving stolen property before deciding he was a match for the suspect seen in the surveillance footage of the arson.

Despite the dual-pronged assault of fire and water, 87 of the 122 ballots said to be inside the box were “legible and able to be processed,” Galvin revealed in a statement on Monday.

However, Massachusetts residents who used that dropbox in the 14 hours preceding the fire have been advised to check on their vote status and request a second ballot if it has not been confirmed received. If they do not request another, their original ballot will be “hand-counted to the extent possible,” officials said.

“What happened in the early hours of this morning to the ballot drop box in Copley Square is a disgrace to democracy, a disrespect to the voters fulfilling their civic duty, and a crime,” Galvin declared in a joint statement with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

" We ask voters not to be intimidated by this bad act, and remain committed to making their voices heard in this and every election."


The unfortunate Boston ballot box is actually the second to meet with a bad end in the space of a week. Last Sunday, an unknown individual set fire to a dropbox in the Los Angeles suburb of Baldwin Hills using a rolled-up newspaper as a torch.

That fire left 230 “pieces of material” for officials to attempt to piece together, and it was unclear how many of those could be read as ballots (or whether indeed they could be read at all). That arson remains under investigation.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×