Man charged with burning ballot drop box in Boston held without bail

BOSTON — A man is being charged with burning a ballot drop box in Boston on Sunday night.

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Boston Police said officers patrolling the area around Copley Square shortly before 11 p.m. saw a man who matched the description of a suspect from surveillance images captured from the ballot box.

Officers approached the man and, after identifying him, discovered he had an active straight warrant out of Ipswich District Court for receiving stolen property.

They identified the man as Worldy Armand, 39, of Boston. He was arrested and is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on the charge of willful and malicious burning.

Of the 122 ballots found in the dropbox following the Sunday morning fire, 87 were considered legible and were able to be processed, the state said.

Those who dropped their ballots into the box between 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 4:00 am Sunday have been asked to reach out to the Boston Elections Department.

Voters who have been impacted by the ballot drop box fire will be mailed replacement ballots by the City of Boston and can cast those ballots – or vote in person – by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said it appears that this was not the act of a man trying to sabotage voting, but rather the act of a person suffering a mental impairment.

“This is the most important election of certainly my lifetime and many of yours as well. Our votes need to be counted. So, I certainly hope nobody else is going to be taking these types of actions. I believe this was an emotionally disturbed individual,” said Rollins.

In a statement, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was quick to try to reassure voters in the integrity of the election, saying, “Voters can be assured that our first and foremost priority is maintaining the integrity of our elections process. We remain committed to making their voices heard in this and every election, and maintaining transparency and trust with voters.”

The attack on the ballot box revealed a vulnerability in early voting.

Now, US Attorney Andrew Lelling is announcing he is appointing one of his federal prosecutors to monitor the election, by overseeing any fraud complaints.

“Every citizen has the constitutional right to cast his or her vote on election day free from intimidation, harassment and discrimination," said Lelling. “The Department of Justice will do its part to ensure the integrity of the election process by enforcing federal laws that protect voters and investigating reports of fraud.”

Armand is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing later this week. He was evaluated by a doctor on Monday as well.

Later on Monday, USPS confirmed to Boston 25 News more charred mail was discovered inside a second collection box in Copley Square in close proximity to the ballot drop box that was set on fire.

Officials have not confirmed if both incidents are related.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Cox Media Group