Georgia secretary of state's office evacuated

Lead by a Georgia State Trooper, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, center, exits the Georgia State Capitol building after hearing reports of threats, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Jan 6, 2021 / 12:39 PM PST

Updated: Jan 6, 2021 / 12:39 PM PST

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Georgia’s secretary of state and his staff have evacuated their offices at the state Capitol as armed protesters gathered outside.

Elections official Gabriel Sterling says it was an internal decision made by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to have his team leave Wednesday.

“We saw stuff happening at the Georgia Capitol and said we should not be around here; we should not be a spark,” Sterling told The Associated Press.

About 100 protesters had gathered at the state Capitol in Atlanta to protest President Donald Trump’s election loss. Some were armed with long guns. Trump has focused much of his ire on Raffensperger in the weeks following his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia by about 12,000 votes.