Images of 9/11 attack, porn interrupt voting machine hearing

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal hearing on a challenge to Georgia’s voting machines was interrupted Friday when someone began posting video and symbols during the live Zoom session, including images from the Sept. 11 attacks, a swastika and pornography.

Before the interruption, there were roughly 100 people signed in as participants and observers to the high-profile hearing.

During testimony by a voting machine company executive, at least two people — one with the user name Osama — began posting rapidly changing videos and still images, some accompanied by music, by sharing their screens with the video conference. The court quickly ended the Zoom session.

The hearing resumed via Zoom about an hour later with a virtual waiting room set up so that participants and observers had to be admitted by the court staff. A member of the court staff was designated to share exhibits sent to her by attorneys.

The hearing in the long-running fight over Georgia’s voting machines began Thursday and continued Friday morning.

Election integrity activists and individual voters who filed the lawsuit say Georgia’s voting machines are unaccountable and unverifiable and have security vulnerabilities. They’ve asked U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to order the state to use hand-marked paper ballots for the November election.

State officials argue that the new machines have been thoroughly tested and that security measures will prevent problems. They also say it would be costly and too difficult to make a switch with so little time remaining before the general election.