Federal investigators are examining suspicious letters sent to state election officials and congressional offices across the United States, with some containing unknown substances.
The FBI and US Postal Inspection Service are investigating the mailings, which were sent to various addresses nationwide, including secretary of state offices and related election departments.
Brendan Donahue, deputy chief inspector at the Postal Inspection Service, said officials were working to identify those responsible and had intercepted some of the letters. He declined to give an exact number of incidents or say whether the cases were connected.
“We are committed to protecting our nation’s election officials from threatening and dangerous mail. Any threat or attack on an election official is unacceptable,” Mr Donahue told reporters.
“Our partners, including the FBI and we at the Postal Inspection Service, will bring all of our resources to bear on these investigations,” he said.
The Senate sergeant at arms has notified congressional staff that offices were among those to receive the suspicious letters. The office of Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut was targeted, his spokesman said.
Josh Sorbe said the office received a letter containing a suspicious substance and was promptly informed by the FBI, the sergeant at arms and Capitol Police.
“Due to those efforts and various safety protocols, the Senator and staff were not in immediate danger,” Mr Sorbe said.
The investigation comes less than three weeks before the midterm elections. Federal officials also examined a series of suspicious letters before the 2024 elections.
Election officials in at least two states have separately reported receiving packages or envelopes containing white powder in recent days.
In Louisiana, Secretary of State Nancy Landry said an employee in the Elections Division opened a package containing a white powder on Tuesday. Law enforcement testing found no evidence of harmful substances and no one was injured, she said.
The Oklahoma State Election Board said it received an envelope containing “suspicious” white powder on Tuesday morning, prompting the evacuation of its office. Its secretary, Paul Ziriax, said no one was hurt and that law enforcement was investigating.
