Washington [US], September 18: The FBI and the US Postal Service announced an investigation into the sending of envelopes containing suspicious white powder to US election offices in at least 17 states this week, according to a summary by ABC News today, September 18.
The FBI and the US Postal Service's inspection agency announced on September 17 that they were investigating the incident. "We are working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, who or what group was behind the mailings, and the motives behind the actions," the two agencies said in a statement.
To date, no envelopes containing toxic substances have been found. In one case, the substance was determined to be flour. However, some election offices that received the envelopes were immediately evacuated in case of a dangerous incident.
Election offices in New York, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Massachusetts and Colorado received such envelopes.
Meanwhile, similar envelopes in the states of Arizona, Georgia, Connecticut, and Maryland were intercepted by investigators before reaching the mailing address.
Some of the envelopes were signed "United States Traitor Extermination Corps."
Officials confirmed that election offices in Kansas and Wyoming were evacuated on September 16. The ventilation system at the Missouri Secretary of State's office in Jefferson City was temporarily shut down as a precaution.
This week's incident of envelopes containing white powder marks the second time election offices have received suspicious envelopes since November 2023. The first incident occurred in five states, with four envelopes found to contain the opioid fentanyl.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper