The FBI and the US Postal Service are investigating suspicious packages received by election officials in 17 states.
Federal investigators are collecting these packages, some of which contained “an unknown substance,” though no injuries have been reported. The packages were sent to secretaries of state and election officials from New York to Alaska.
This investigation comes amid increasing threats against election officials across the US, as concerns about political violence rise with the presidential election approaching in November.
The FBI and the Postal Service are working to determine the total number of letters sent, the identity of the sender, and their motives.
“Some of the letters contained an unknown substance, and we are coordinating with law enforcement partners to address each incident and safely collect the letters,” the agencies stated in a release to BBC’s US partner, CBS News.
The Associated Press reported that packages were sent to election officials in states including Alaska, Georgia, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Iowa, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold noted on X (formerly Twitter) that the sender identified themselves as the “US Traitor Elimination Army.”
Officials in at least four states indicated that the substances found in the packages posed no threat. In Oklahoma, the Board of Elections confirmed that the substance was flour.
In an interview with CBS, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, reported that her office receives daily threats via voicemails, emails, social media, or in person, stating that “it’s escalating.”
This is not the first incident involving suspicious mail sent to US election offices. Last November, offices in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington received envelopes containing fentanyl or other substances.
Separately, federal investigators are questioning a gunman who was found hiding in bushes on a Florida golf course where Trump was golfing on Sunday.
