The FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service on Tuesday were investigating the origin of suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in more than a dozen states, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or that any of the packages contained hazardous material.
The FBI is collecting the letters, some of which contained “an unknown substance”, spokesperson Kristen Setera of the agency’s Boston office said in a statement.
“We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters”, she said. “As this is an ongoing matter we will not be commenting further on the investigation, but the public can be assured safety is our top priority.”
It’s the second time in the past year that suspicious packages were mailed to election officials in multiple state offices.
The latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states less than two months ahead of the high-stakes elections for President, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices around the nation, causing disruption in what is already a tense voting season. Local election directors are beefing up their security to keep their workers and polling places safe while also ensuring that ballots and voting procedures won’t be tampered with.
The National Association of Secretaries of State condemned what it described as a “disturbing trend” of threats to election workers leading up to Nov 5, as well as the second apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“This must stop, period”, the group said. “Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind.
