Suspicious Powder Letters Sent to Election Offices in 32 States Ahead of Midterms
Last Tuesday at 12:20 pm, a letter that was opened at the Louisiana secretary of state's office released a non-toxic white powder, leading to an evacuation and sending one employee to the hospital; the office resumed operations on Wednesday. Trey Williams noted that the incident did not disrupt election preparations. An investigation revealed that similar letters were sent to election offices in at least 31 states, such as Arizona, Delaware, and South Carolina, resulting in evacuations. States that confirmed receiving these letters include Alaska, California, and Florida. The National Association of Secretaries of State voiced concerns regarding threats to election officials. The FBI and USPS are looking into the mailings, which also reached congressional offices, including those of senators Ted Cruz and Chris Murphy.
Key facts
- A letter opened at the Louisiana secretary of state's office at 12:20 pm last Tuesday released white powder, forcing an evacuation and an emergency room visit
- Tests showed the substance was not harmful and the Louisiana office reopened by Wednesday
- Election offices in at least 32 states received suspicious letters, according to a WIRED investigation
- Most letters were intercepted by the United States Postal Service before reaching their targets
- Letters were not intercepted in Arizona, Delaware, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Louisiana, leading to evacuations
- Utah lieutenant governor Deidre Henderson posted an image on Threads of an intercepted letter bearing the sender name DSA and a New York ZIP code
- The Democratic Socialists of America denied any involvement in the mailings
- The FBI and US Postal Inspection Service are investigating the series of suspicious mailings
Entities
Artists
- Trey Williams
- Deidre Henderson
- Ted Cruz
- Chris Murphy
- Alex Padilla
- Hillary Scholten
- Michel Moore
- Elizabeth Jonson
Institutions
- WIRED
- Louisiana secretary of state's office
- United States Postal Service
- National Association of Secretaries of State
- National Association of State Election Directors
- FBI
- US Postal Inspection Service
- Juneau Independent
- Democratic Socialists of America
- Department of Homeland Security
- Federal Protective Service
- Homeland Security Investigations
- Committee for Safe and Secure Elections
Locations
- Louisiana
- United States
- Arizona
- Delaware
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Alaska
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Vermont
- Michigan
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Colorado
- Kentucky
- Indiana
- North Carolina
- Washington, DC
- Juneau