Current:Home > FinanceThe FBI is investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 8 states -Prime Capital Blueprint
The FBI is investigating suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 8 states
View
Date:2025-04-17 05:02:40
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The FBI and U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday were investigating suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in at least eight states, but there were no immediate reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material.
The latest packages were sent to elections officials in Massachusetts and Missouri, authorities said. The Missouri Secretary of State’s Elections Division received a suspicious package “from an unknown source,” spokesperson JoDonn Chaney said. He said mailroom workers contained the package and no injuries were reported.
It marked 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.
On Tuesday, the FBI notified the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office that postal service investigators had identified what they described as a suspicious envelope that had been delivered to a building housing state offices. The package was intercepted and isolated, according to state officials. No employees from the secretary of the commonwealth’s office had contact with the envelope, which is now in the hands of the FBI.
Powder-containing packages were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma on Monday. The packages forced evacuations in Iowa, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Hazmat crews in several states quickly determined the material was harmless. The FBI and postal service were investigating.
Oklahoma officials said the material sent to the election office there contained flour. Wyoming officials have not yet said if the material sent there was hazardous.
“We have specific protocols in place for situations such as this,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement after the evacuation of the six-story Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines. “We immediately reported the incident per our protocols.”
A state office building in Topeka, Kansas, was evacuated due to suspicious mail sent to both the secretary of state and attorney general, Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson April M. McCollum said in a statement.
Topeka Fire Department crews found several pieces of mail with an unknown substance on them, though a field test found no hazardous materials, spokesperson Rosie Nichols said. Several employees in both offices had been exposed to it and had their health monitored, she said.
In Oklahoma, the State Election Board received a suspicious envelope in the mail containing a multi-page document and a white, powdery substance, agency spokesperson Misha Mohr said in an email to The Associated Press. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which oversees security for the Capitol, secured the envelope. Testing determined the substance was flour, Mohr said.
State workers in an office building next to the Wyoming Capitol in Cheyenne were sent home for the day pending testing of a white substance mailed to the secretary of state’s office.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
Suspicious letters were sent to election offices and government buildings in at least six states last November, including the same building in Kansas that received suspicious mail Monday. While some of the letters contained fentanyl, even the suspicious mail that was not toxic delayed the counting of ballots in some local elections.
One of the targeted offices was in Fulton County, Georgia, the largest voting jurisdiction in one of the nation’s most important swing states. Four county election offices in Washington state had to be evacuated as election workers were processing ballots cast, delaying vote-counting.
The letters caused election workers around the country to stock up the overdose reversal medication naloxone.
Election offices across the United States have taken steps to increase the security of their buildings and boost protections for workers amid an onslaught of harassment and threats following the 2020 election and the false claims that it was rigged.
___
LeBlanc reported from Boston. Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri; Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan; Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
veryGood! (61)
Related
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Asa Hutchinson to join University of Arkansas law school faculty next year
- Lady Gaga Welcomes First New Puppy Since 2021 Dog Kidnapping Incident
- Hungary says it will provide free tickets to Brussels for migrants trying to enter the EU
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- 'SNL' star Punkie Johnson reveals why she left the show
- USDA efforts to solve the bird flu outbreak in cows are taking center stage in central Iowa
- RFK Jr. withdraws from Arizona ballot as questions swirl around a possible alliance with Trump
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- Daniela Larreal Chirinos, 5-time Olympic cyclist for Venezuela, dies in Las Vegas at 51
Ranking
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- PBS’ Judy Woodruff apologizes for an on-air remark about peace talks in Israel
- South Carolina considers its energy future through state Senate committee
- ‘The answer is no': Pro-Palestinian delegates say their request for a speaker at DNC was shut down
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Pharmacist blamed for deaths in US meningitis outbreak expected to plead no contest in Michigan case
- Former Milwaukee hotel workers accused of killing a man by pinning him down plead not guilty
- How Nevada colleges and universities are encouraging students to vote
Recommendation
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
Atlantic City casino earnings declined by 1.3% in 2nd quarter of 2024
Don't want to Google it? These alternative search engines are worth exploring.
Emily Ratajkowski Has the Best Reaction After Stranger Tells Her to “Put on a Shirt” Mid-Video
Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
Archaeologists in Virginia unearth colonial-era garden with clues about its enslaved gardeners
3-month-old baby is fatally mauled by dogs in attic while parents smoked pot, police say
Florida State, ACC complete court-ordered mediation as legal fight drags into football season