State election officials among targets of powder-letter wave
Sen. Adam Schiff announced Sunday that at least one envelope containing a “suspicious substance” addressed to one of his California offices was intercepted by U.S. Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms, according to United Press International. The Democratic senator’s office is the latest target in a surge of similar mailings sent to elected officials of both parties in the run-up to the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
“This attempt to intimidate elected officials and our staff will not succeed,” Schiff said in a statement. “We instead condemn these threats as antithetical to the values of our nation, recommit to our work and thank the law enforcement and postal officials who are helping keep our teams safe.”
The mailings date to Tuesday, when Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry and the Oklahoma State Election Board each reported receiving envelopes containing a suspicious white powder, UPI reported. Ohio Secretary of State Frank laRosa said Wednesday that U.S. Postal Service investigators had intercepted a similar letter intended for his office.
Dozens of members of Congress have been the targets of such letters, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, as well as Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros, who late last week posted a photograph to social media of a white-gloved hand holding an envelope with his name and address handwritten on it.
Schiff described the mailings as “a disturbing pattern of lawmakers being targeted across party and geography.” Multiple federal agencies are investigating, he said, without naming the agencies involved.