FBI and hazardous materials personnel respond to the Skokie letter
The letter to Pelosi’s district office arrived Wednesday, according to Nicholas Martin, the former House speaker’s spokesperson. In a statement, Martin said the office had received “a suspicious letter consistent with mailings reported by other congressional offices.” He added that “everyone is safe, and our office is following established security procedures.”
Dozens of lawmakers of both parties and across the nation have reported receiving suspicious letters, some containing white powder or unknown substances, since the first were reported Oct. 13.
Three Democratic lawmakers from Illinois — Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Mike Quigley and Brad Schneider — said separately Wednesday that they had received their second suspicious mailing in the last week.
Schakowsky said in a statement that staff at her Skokie office “once again immediately alerted authorities out of an abundance of caution” when they noticed something unusual about the envelope. “We worked with the Skokie Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police to respond to the situation,” she said. “FBI and hazardous materials personnel also responded to the scene. All staff are safe and accounted for, and authorities have since given the all clear for our office. The contents of the letter are being further investigated.”
Quigley, in a statement posted online Wednesday, echoed concerns voiced by many lawmakers that the mailings were part of an effort to intimidate public officials and voters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. “I am again calling on my colleagues and political leaders on both sides of the aisle to condemn political violence in the strongest of terms and turn down the temperature of political discourse,” he said.
Authorities are investigating the wave of mailings, though no arrests have been announced. The FBI, U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are jointly investigating the letters, and the Senate Sergeant at Arms is coordinating the Senate response.
The mailings are part of a broader pattern that has now reached dozens of congressional offices. MSI previously reported on Oct. 20 that more than a dozen lawmakers had disclosed suspicious envelopes. Its Oct. 19 report said law enforcement sources told ABC News that more than 100 letters thought to contain white powder were circulating in the U.S. mail system. The FBI said recovered envelopes were processed through a north Texas mail processing center and carried a postmark or stamp reading “Thinking of You.”