FBI probes robocalls warning 800,000 swing-state voters to “stay home”

The FBI is investigating after more than 800,000 Election Day robocalls warned swing state voters to “stay home and stay safe.”

Over 3 million automated phone calls were made nationally on Tuesday — but 800,000 targeting phone numbers tied to six presidential swing states are especially alarming, given their potential to impact the outcome of the election, ProPublica reports.

It is not known who was responsible for the robocall campaign or whether it was directed at people of a particular political persuasion.

The calls were uncovered by the robocall watchdog firm TelTech, although the available data doesn’t show how many call recipients listened to the full message, according to the report.

One of the cryptic messages lasted just a few seconds, announcing “stay home and stay safe” in a robotic monotone.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told ProPublica on Tuesday that the FBI is investigating the calls.

“Be mindful of people that are trying to intimidate you, undermine your confidence,” the unnamed official said, adding that robocalls are a problem during every election.

Texas received the lion’s share of Election Day robocalls, with over 798,000 phone numbers targeted. 534,000 phone numbers with area codes in the crucial battleground state of Florida were also bombarded with automated messages, ProPublica said.