Testing found the mailed white substance was not dangerous
A federal criminal complaint unsealed Monday charges Matthew Ungelsbee, 37, of Quincy in southwestern Illinois, with mailing threatening communications and perpetrating a hoax. The complaint alleges that Ungelsbee sent at least four plain white envelopes containing a powdery substance to elected officials in Chicago. Testing confirmed that the white substance was not dangerous, though the court records did not identify it.
Motive was unclear in the records. According to the complaint, Ungelsbee said he knew the congress members would “take it serious” because the powder might be perceived as anthrax, which he knew was dangerous and could prompt a response by hazmat teams. The complaint stated, “Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognized the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat.”
The envelopes were postmarked in Springfield, Illinois, on Oct. 19, and Ungelsbee’s name was handwritten in the return-address section, the complaint said.
The most recent envelope was received Oct. 23 at the office of a U.S. senator, federal records show. It contained a white powdery substance and a handwritten note reading “HAH enjoy the gift.” Investigators said none of the recipients opened the letters, and the recipients of the mailings were not named.
FBI agents interviewed Ungelsbee at his home on Sunday, court records show. He told agents that all the letters contained salt, and he claimed he had sent them after hearing someone talk about similar mailings in the news earlier this month.
Authorities searched Ungelsbee’s home and found a fifth envelope addressed to another congress member’s Washington, D.C., office, the records show.
Ungelsbee was scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon. The court records did not list a defense attorney, and a phone number for Ungelsbee could not be found. A Facebook message to a Matthew Ungelsbee in Quincy was not immediately returned.
Earlier this month, federal authorities said they were investigating letters with “suspicious substances” that had been mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide. That investigation, by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police, was first disclosed in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms obtained Oct. 15 by The Associated Press.
According to the records, the investigation into the mailings attributed to him began after an anonymous tipster reported overhearing Ungelsbee in a restaurant talking about mailing a suspicious substance to members of Congress. The tip was received Oct. 16, and the FBI tracked Ungelsbee down after the envelopes arrived at the congressional offices days later.
Ungelsbee denied involvement in the broader mailings under investigation.