FBI and Capitol Police Investigate Suspicious Letters Mailed to Election Offices

WASHINGTON — The FBI, US Postal Inspection Service, and Capitol Police are investigating letters containing suspicious substances that were mailed to congressional and state election offices, according to officials and notices sent to Hill staff on Thursday. A spokesperson for Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) confirmed that one of the letters arrived at his local office in Hartford. Packages containing a powdery substance were also opened at election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma, prompting evacuations. Similar parcels bound for Ohio, Maryland, Mississippi, and South Dakota were intercepted by the Postal Service before reaching their intended recipients, officials in those states revealed. The FBI, US Postal Inspection Service, and Capitol Police are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices. "Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident. We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters," a bureau spokesperson stated. Deputy Chief Postal Inspector Brendan Donahue confirmed the investigation in a press conference on Thursday, stating, "Any threat or attack on an election official is unacceptable." A Senate email notice indicated that law enforcement officials are working to intercept any additional letters before they are delivered, though it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations. The Senate warning included a photo of one of the suspicious envelopes that was postmarked "DSA" and provided a return address at the same Financial District building — 75 Maiden Lane — that the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) formerly listed on their membership forms. A representative for DSA stated, "DSA has not occupied this office address since 2013. We are also no longer headquartered at 75 Maiden Lane." It was not immediately clear when DSA moved its operations out of the building. Congressional offices have been targeted in the past with contaminated letters, notably in a series of anthrax attacks in 2001 that sent the deadly bacteria causing the disease to Senate offices. One of those letters arrived at then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s (D-SD) office in October of that year, forcing staff to seek treatment while an entire building was later decontaminated. The mailing spree killed five people and sickened at least 17. Letters containing ricin, a poison, have also been mailed to Senate offices in the past, but no deaths resulted.