The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on Tuesday had been investigating the origin of suspicious packages which were despatched to or acquired by elections officers in additional than 15 states, however there have been no quick stories of accidents or that any of the packages contained hazardous materials.
The most recent packages had been despatched to elections officers in Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, and Rhode Island. Mississippi authorities reported a bundle was delivered there Monday, and the Connecticut Secretary of State’s workplace mentioned the FBI alerted it of a bundle that was intercepted.
The FBI is gathering the packages, a few of which contained “an unknown substance,” company spokesperson Kristen Setera in Boston mentioned in an announcement.
“We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters,” she mentioned. “As this is an ongoing matter we will not be commenting further on the investigation, but the public can be assured safety is our top priority.”
It’s the second time previously 12 months that suspicious packages had been mailed to election officers in a number of states.
The most recent scare comes as early voting has begun in a number of states forward of the high-stakes elections for president, Senate, Congress and key statehouse workplaces, inflicting disruption in an already tense voting season. Native election administrators are beefing up safety to maintain employees and polling locations protected whereas additionally making certain that ballots and voting procedures gained’t be tampered with.
The Nationwide Affiliation of Secretaries of State condemned what it described as a “disturbing trend” of threats to election employees main as much as Nov. 5, in addition to the second obvious assassination try on former President Donald Trump.
“This must stop, period,” the group mentioned. “Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any type.”
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Workplace mentioned a bundle containing white powder and with the sender listed as “U.S. Traitor Elimination Army” was intercepted at a mail facility. It mentioned the bundle was just like these despatched to different states and that early indications counsel the powder was innocent.
On Tuesday, the FBI notified the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s workplace that postal service investigators had recognized a suspicious envelope delivered to a constructing housing state workplaces. The bundle was intercepted.
Packages additionally had been despatched to secretaries of state and election workplaces in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming this week. The packages pressured evacuations in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Hazmat crews shortly decided the fabric was innocent.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Elections Division mentioned it acquired a bundle just like these despatched to different states and that the state Division of Homeland Safety was testing it. The division mentioned it has notified county election officers to be looking out.
Oklahoma officers mentioned the fabric despatched to the election workplace there contained flour.
“We have specific protocols in place for situations such as this,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate mentioned in an announcement after the evacuation of the six-story Lucas State Workplace Constructing in Des Moines.
A state workplace constructing in Topeka, Kansas, was evacuated because of suspicious mail despatched to each the secretary of state and lawyer basic, Kansas Freeway Patrol spokesperson April M. McCollum mentioned in an announcement.
Topeka Hearth Division crews discovered a number of items of mail with an unknown substance on them, although a discipline take a look at discovered no hazardous supplies, spokesperson Rosie Nichols mentioned. A number of staff had been uncovered to it and had been being monitored.
In Oklahoma, the State Election Board acquired a suspicious envelope within the mail containing a multi-page doc and a white, powdery substance, company spokesperson Misha Mohr mentioned. Testing decided the substance was flour.
State employees in an workplace constructing subsequent to the Wyoming Capitol in Cheyenne had been despatched dwelling Monday pending testing of a white substance mailed to the secretary of state’s workplace.
Suspicious letters had been despatched to election workplaces and authorities buildings in at the least six states final November, together with the identical constructing in Kansas that acquired suspicious mail Monday. Whereas a number of the letters contained fentanyl, even the suspicious mail that was not poisonous delayed the counting of ballots in some native elections.
One of many focused workplaces was in Fulton County, Georgia, the biggest voting jurisdiction in one of many nation’s most necessary swing states. 4 county election workplaces in Washington state needed to be evacuated as election employees had been processing ballots forged, delaying vote-counting.
The letters prompted election employees across the nation to replenish the overdose reversal remedy naloxone.
Election workplaces throughout america have taken steps to extend safety amid an onslaught of harassment and threats following the 2020 election and the false claims that it was rigged.
