All-Clear At GA Airport After Suspicious Item Found During Raffensperger Event

Updated 12:18 p.m.

MACON, GA — A suspicious item found during a campaign tour stop for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Tuesday morning in Macon has been determined non-hazardous, according to authorities and media reports.

Authorities were notified of an incident around 8:15 a.m. at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in the 1000 block of Terminal Drive, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

At the time, Raffensperger, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, was set to hold an event at 10 a.m at the airport as part of his statewide fly-around campaign, 41NBC reported.

Deputies and K9s with a Bomb Unit swept the evacuated airport, where a suspicious item was found inside a vending machine in a secure area, authorities said.

The Bomb Unit examined the object, and it was determined to not be hazardous, authorities said.

There were no injuries reported, and there were no staff or patrons inside the airport when the item was found, authorities said.

The airport has been reopened after a temporary closure, authorities said. It is not clear if Raffesnperger's event will continue as planned.

Raffensperger, who has served as Georgia's 29th secretary of state since first being elected in 2018, threw his hat in the ring to fill a seat that will soon be left vacant by Gov. Brian Kemp.

He faces heavy-hitting opponents Attorney General Chris Carr (R), Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), former White House aide and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D), former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond (D) and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (D).

Patch has reached out to Raffensperger's office for comment.