MACON, Ga. (WMGT/WALB) — The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said a suspicious object was found Tuesday, May 12, morning near a campaign stop for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, according to Macon NBC affiliate, 41NBC. The suspicious object was reportedly found inside a secure area of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport during a sweep of the evacuated airport.

According to the sheriff’s office, the Macon-Bibb Emergency 911 Center was notified about the incident at 8:21 a.m., 41NBC reported.

The suspicious object was reportedly found inside of a vending machine inside a secure area, BCSO said at about 12:40 p.m. The Bomb Squad secured the object for examination. After the thorough sweep of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, and further investigation, no hazardous devices were detected.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also addressed the situation and released the following statement to 41NBC:

“Thank you for being out here today. It’s not exactly the spot that we had envisioned, but it’s clear that when you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, you put people ahead of politics, some folks just won’t like you. In fact, some people will hate you, even want to try and hurt you. So yes, we are dealing with an active threat, and no, I refuse to back down. I will fight for what’s right. I will stand for you. And I will stand for Georgia no matter what. Now that’s all I can say right now, and we’ll let law enforcement handle this and provide any additional information as it comes out. Thank you for being here.”

Patrol deputies and the E.O.D. Bomb Unit canines reportedly detected the suspicious object inside a secure area of the airport, located at 1000 Terminal Drive in Macon. The Bomb Unit secured the object for examination, according to the sheriff’s office.

There are no injuries reported, and officials said there were no patrons inside the airport when the object was found.

This comes after 41NBC reported that there was a large law enforcement presence near the airport Tuesday morning.

Raffensperger’s campaign announced a 10 a.m. stop in Macon as part of a statewide fly-around tour tied to his campaign for governor, 41NBC said.

This is a developing story. Stay with WALB on-air and online for updates.

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