Suspicious white powder letters sent to election offices and senators across the country

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal authorities are investigating a series of letters containing a white powder that were mailed to state election offices and U.S. Senate offices ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Packages with powder led to evacuations of election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma, and offices from Idaho to Florida reported receiving letters or having them intercepted. U.S. Capitol Police intercepted a letter sent to Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and postal workers stopped mail addressed to Sens. Alex Padilla and Kirsten Gillibrand.

In Wisconsin, tests showed the powder in a letter to the state elections commission was not hazardous. The FBI said it is “investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide,” together with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Capitol Police.

“Let this be very clear: this incident will not shake us,” said Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe. National associations of secretaries of state and election directors condemned the threats against election workers.