At least nine more lawmakers report suspicious envelopes sent to their offices

Some pictured letters carried a former DSA return address; DSA denied involvement

At least nine U.S. lawmakers announced Tuesday that suspicious envelopes had been mailed to their offices, the latest disclosures in a wave of similar mailings targeting federal legislators from both parties over the past week. More than three dozen senators and House members have reported receiving suspicious envelopes, some containing white powder or unknown substances, or having them intercepted by postal investigators.

The Tuesday announcements came from seven House Democrats — Reps. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif.; Shontel Brown, D-Ohio; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; Robert Garcia, D-Calif.; Pablo José Hernández, D-P.R.; Donald Norcross, D-N.J.; and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. — and two Republican senators, Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb.

The mailings were first reported Oct. 13, when suspicious letters were received by the offices of elected officials in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

On Monday, House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland sent lawmakers a memo obtained by Roll Call. The memo stated, “none of the letters received by congressional offices have been determined to contain hazardous substances,” and said more offices could receive similar letters “in the coming days.” The same day, more than a dozen lawmakers said suspicious letters had been sent to their offices.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement Tuesday that a suspicious letter had been delivered to her district office in Hunts Point. She said, “This string of suspicious mailings started two weeks before a consequential midterm election and is seemingly intended to intimidate public servants and sow further division. Political violence has no place in our country. It is always unacceptable and we must all refuse to normalize an unsafe and volatile political environment where everyday people are put at risk.”

Rep. Donald Norcross said in a statement Tuesday that a suspicious envelope addressed to his Cherry Hill district office had been intercepted by postal service investigators a day prior. He said, “A single threat against one elected official is chilling enough. But it’s more common than ever that elected officials and their staff — no matter their title nor party — are being targeted for no other reason than choosing public service. That’s unsustainable for any version of a healthy, functional government.”

Pictures of the letters posted online by some lawmakers in the past week showed that the intended recipients’ names and addresses were handwritten, while the return addresses were printed. In some cases, the return address was identical to a New York City address formerly used by the Democratic Socialists of America, a political organization that has denied involvement with the letters.

There have been no reported injuries from the mailings. Federal and local authorities are investigating, and no arrests have been announced.

MSI previously reported that more than a dozen lawmakers said Monday that suspicious letters had been sent to their offices. Tuesday brought at least nine additional disclosures in the same wave.