Trump has stocked his administration with people who have backed his false 2020 election claims

President Donald Trump has long spread conspiracy theories about voting designed to explain away his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Now that he's president again, Trump has stocked his administration with those who have promoted his falsehoods and in some cases helped him try to overturn his loss.

Those election conspiracists now holding official power range from the attorney general to lawyers filing lawsuits for the Justice Department. Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who unsuccessfully pushed the Justice Department in 2020 to back the president's false claims, is now leading a sweeping probe of the vote from that election.

The most dramatic action from that mandate was the seizure in late January of ballots and 2020 election records from Fulton County in Georgia, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta. The county has long been a target of election conspiracy theorists aligned with Trump, and the affidavit for the search warrant shows the action was based on 2020 claims that in many cases had been thoroughly investigated.

Election officials across the country, especially those in states controlled politically by Democrats, are bracing for more turmoil during this year's elections, when control of Congress is on the line.

“The election denial movement is now embedded across our federal government, which makes it more powerful than ever,” said Joanna Lydgate, chief executive officer of States United Democracy Center, which tracks those who promote election conspiracy theories. “Trump and his allies are trying to use all of the powers of the federal government to undermine elections, with an eye to the upcoming midterms.”

Trump has remade the federal government as an arm of his own personal will, and his attorney general, Pam Bondi — who helped try to overturn Trump's 2020 loss — has declared that everyone working at the Justice Department needs to carry out the president's demands. Even with all the issues facing him in his second term, from persistent concerns about the economy to his immigration crackdown, Trump continues to push the false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Some of the people who populate his administration are, like Bondi, longtime supporters who continued to help Trump even as he sought to overturn an election. Some played minor roles in supporting the false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Still others have pushed conspiracy theories, often fantastical or debunked, that have helped persuade millions of Republicans that Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him.

FILE - Heather Honey, a conservative election researcher, leaves the federal courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa., Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo, file)

FILE - Joe Kent speaks during a congressional debate at KATU studios Oct. 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as she testifies before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, file)

A banner showing President Donald Trump is hung from the Department of Justice, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — They wear Norwegian Viking helmets, French chicken suits and German fuzzy black, red and yellow cow hats, paint their faces in national colors, drape flags around their shoulders and don patriotic costumes as they sing YMCA or chant their hero's name.

The almost 20,000 biathlon fans who pack the stands and line the ski tracks of Anterselva biathlon arena are among the most boisterous of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, and their enthusiasm will likely hit a crescendo Friday for the men's 15-kilometer mass start race — the last chance for the men to medal in this Olympic cycle.

“Sha la la la la la la - Er-ic Per-rot,” chanted a group of French fans wearing blue, white and red chicken hats and carrying a cut-out face of Perrot - who has already won two gold and a silver medal in these Winter Games.

Up the trail, Oystein Saeterdal of Bergen, Norway, wore a Norwegian flag suit and sunglasses while standing with a group of Swedish fans wearing yellow and blue jackets and hats. Their countries may be rivals on the ski track and shooting range, but they support each other and cheer for all who compete, he said.

“It's the biathlon family,” he said. “It's another atmosphere. I go to football matches in England and it's not like this. We're all friends. That's why it's so special.”

During the races, when the lead biathlete skis into the shooting range area, the crowd erupts in a deafening cheer. They go silent before the first shot is fired, scream a collective “yay” for each hit and sigh a disappointed “ohhh” if there’s a miss. The Italian and German biathletes get the loudest responses, but the festive crowd will offer support to any skier who passes the sold-out stands or struggles on a climb.

Biathlon is one of they most watched winter sports in Europe and the Olympic biathlon races are being held at an established, frequently used and visited venue — the Südtirol Arena in Anterselva, Italy. It's an annual stop on the biathlon World Cup circuit and regular host of the World Championships.

It knows how to welcome and accommodate thousands of fans - regardless of the weather.

The range is located at an altitude of 5,200 feet (1,600 meters) at the top of the Anterselva valley, in the shadow of jagged, snow-covered peaks near the Austrian border. The biathlon venue has the highest spectator capacity of the entire Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and is expected to host close to 200,000 fans through the event.

Allan and Mallory Ayers traveled all the way from Bentonville, Arkansas, to attend Olympic events and said the view at the Anterselva venue was the best they've seen.

German fan Alois Aschenbrenner said he and his group of cow-hat-wearing fans drove eight hours in a blizzard on Thursday, and then took two shuttle buses and walked another 15 minutes to attend Friday's mass start race.

“It was worth it,” he said. “We give a cheer to everybody.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Fans take photos with snowmen with the names of France's Eric Perrot, from left, Emilien Jacquelin, Fabien Claude and Quentin Fillon Maillet ahead of the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Fans of France wait for the start of the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A fan of France waits for the start of the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Fans of Germany wait for the start of the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Fans of France wait for the start of the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Biathlon fans cheer ahead of the men's 4x7.5-kilometer relay race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Fans of Lou Jeanmonnot, of France, hold a medal after the women's 4x6-kilometer relay biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)