Suspicious packages sent to election officials across US
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Department are investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in 17 states.
Federal investigators stated that they are collecting the packages, some of which contained “an unknown substance,” though no injuries have been reported.
The packages were addressed to secretaries of state and election officials across a wide region, spanning from New York to Alaska.
This investigation comes amid increasing reports of threats against election officials nationwide and warnings of potential political violence as the November presidential election nears.
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Department are working to determine the total number of letters sent, who is responsible, and the motive behind them.
“Some of the letters contained an unknown substance, and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to address each incident and safely collect the letters,” the agencies said in a statement to CBS News, BBC’s U.S. partner.
The Associated Press news agency reported that packages were sent to election officials in Alaska, Georgia, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Iowa, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that whoever posted the letters had called themselves as the “US Traitor Elimination Army”.
Officials in at least four of the states said there was no threat posed by the substances found in the packages. In Oklahoma, the Board of Elections said the substance was found to be flour.
In an interview with CBS, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said her office was receiving threats daily through voicemails, emails, social media or in person, adding that “it’s escalating”.
This is not the first time suspicious mail was mailed to US election offices.
Last November, offices in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington were sent envelopes with fentanyl or other substances.
Federal investigators are separately questioning a gunman who was found lurking in bushes on a Florida golf course where Trump was putting on Sunday.
