This is a misconception. The geomagnetic disruption temporarily weakens the earth's magnetic field effectively allowing more charged particles to penetrate the upper atmosphere, and even right down to surface. This upper atmosphere penetration is what causes auroras in fact: the charged solar particles imparting energy to atmospheric gases and compounds through impact, that they re-emit that energy as beautiful light when they return to baseline / ground state. Also Earth is constantly bombarded by cosmic energy and particles too, and the weakened shield during CME also allows some of that to penetrate deeper.
Also, the global electric circuit is affected by CMEs which affects all electric systems on the planet, to some degree.
While it's true that Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field shield the surface from most direct particle impacts, the main effect of CMEs come instead from their effect on the electromagnetics of Earth.
For example, these disturbances can induce currents in the Earth itself and even in biological systems, which are sensitive to electromagnetic changes.
This can affect everything from power grids to navigation systems and even animal migration patterns. So, while individual electronic devices might not be directly fried by a CME, they can still be affected by the impact, as well as the broader electrical and biological systems on Earth.
To put it another way: while these particles themselves may not reach the surface, their effects certainly do. The interaction of these particles with the Earth's magnetic field can lead to geomagnetic storms and disturbances that indirectly affect the surface through induced currents, as previously mentioned. These interactions can influence electrical grids and even have subtler effects on biological systems. Thus, the primary impact of CMEs at the surface comes from the electromagnetic fluctuations they cause, rather than from direct contact with the charged particles.