Letters with 'suspicious substances' sent to US senators and election offices
A number of states have confirmed they were targeted by the mailings, including Oklahoma, Ohio and Louisiana.
Key points
- The FBI and US Postal Inspection Service are tracing suspicious mailings sent to US senators and election offices.
- Letters went to at least five Democratic senators, including Alex Padilla, Chris Murphy and Kirsten Gillibrand.
- Several state election offices received letters containing white powder, with one evacuation in Louisiana.
The FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) said they are trying to trace suspicious mailings sent to US senators and election offices. Some of the mailings were intercepted before delivery, and authorities declined to say how many offices were targeted.
The letters arrived just weeks before the US midterm elections. Several secretaries of state and congressional offices reported receiving them, echoing earlier security scares involving suspicious mail.
Letters sent to senators
Suspicious letters were sent to at least five Democratic senators' offices, most of which were intercepted before delivery. The offices of California's Alex Padilla, Connecticut's Chris Murphy and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand confirmed the mailings to the BBC.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Delaware Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester were also sent suspicious mail, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News. Padilla said in a statement that the incident was a stark reminder of the danger facing public servants and election workers amid increasingly hostile political rhetoric.
This incident is a stark reminder of the very real danger facing those who serve the public and who help administer our elections in the face of increasingly hostile political rhetoric
— Alex Padilla
State offices affected
Delaware's Department of Elections said its office received and opened a letter containing a white powdery substance on Thursday. Staff followed security protocols for handling suspicious mail.
The Oklahoma State Election Board and the Louisiana secretary of state both said this week that their offices had received letters containing white powder. The Louisiana office was evacuated after a staff member opened the package on Tuesday, but reopened after law enforcement found no evidence of harmful substances.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said his office was the intended recipient of a letter containing white powder, but the USPIS intercepted it. The New York State Capitol in Albany and the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne also received suspicious packages, according to emergency responder scanner feed reviewed by the BBC.
