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The Republican National Committee (RNC) sued the City of Detroit Department of Elections for deleting drop box surveillance footage after it had be requested.
The RNC asserts that the move violates the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and raises serious election integrity alarms.
“Deleting drop box surveillance footage while there is a pending FOIA request for it is an assault on transparency. This breach of trust is exactly what reduces confidence in our elections,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley stated.
“We will hold Detroit accountable, as this secrecy has no place in a fair and secure election — Michiganders deserve far better,” he added.
The RNC reported in its statement that on August 20, the committee submitted a FOIA request for drop box video surveillance footage after being alerted to a potential election integrity concern during the primary election. The request included the footage from August 7-8 to verify the situation.
Detroit acknowledged the request on August 21 and sought an extension to provide the footage. On September 16, the RNC received a response stating that the footage had been “automatically” deleted after 30 days.
The deletion of footage related to a pending Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, submitted more than two weeks prior, constitutes a clear violation of FOIA, the RNC noted. Detroit had a legal obligation to preserve and provide this footage, which it failed to uphold, according to the committee.
The RNC’s lawsuit seeks to hold the city accountable for not maintaining drop box footage while FOIA requests are pending and to prevent this from occurring during the general election.
Trump’s election integrity operation is actively addressing these ongoing instances of election interference, the RNC wrote.
The lawsuit follows another recent concern in Michigan, Whatley noted in a recent X post.
“When the city of Detroit failed to hire enough Republican poll workers, the RNC and MIGOP filed a lawsuit to force the city to hire an equal number of Republicans and Democrats,” he posted.
“As a result of our action, Detroit has now agreed to follow the law and hire Republican poll workers. A crucial win ahead of November 5th!” he said.