"Opened the Envelope to Find an Unidentified White Powder"... Lawmakers' Offices Thrown into Chaos

Packages delivered to district offices of at least 20 lawmakers
FBI, Capitol Police launch full investigation of incidents

With the midterm elections coming up next month, suspicious mail containing substances such as white powder has been delivered to local offices of U.S. senators and House members in a series of incidents, prompting authorities to launch investigations.

The Hill, a U.S. political news outlet, reported on Oct. 17 (Korea time) that suspicious, unidentified mail had been delivered to local offices of at least 20 lawmakers from both parties, or intercepted by authorities before delivery. The senators whose offices The Hill confirmed had received such mail were Mike Rounds, Pete Ricketts and Ted Cruz, all Republicans, and Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats. At least 15 House members were also reported to have said that such mail had arrived at their district offices.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Photo: EPA-Yonhap News.

The Washington Post (WP) earlier reported that suspicious mail had been sent to the offices of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic senators Chris Murphy and Alex Padilla. The office of California Rep. Jimmy Panetta said an employee at its Santa Cruz district office found an unidentified white powder while opening an envelope. The employee immediately put the envelope in a trash can, evacuated other staff members and called 911. A preliminary medical examination found no particular health issues with the employee.

Sen. Rounds, whose South Dakota office received mail, wrote on social media that he was "deeply concerned by the ongoing deceptive acts of intimidation threatening our staff," adding that "such conduct has no place in our society." Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, also condemned the incidents as "a deliberate and widespread attack targeting our democracy and election system."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Capitol Police have launched full investigations into the incidents. An FBI spokesperson said the agency had received reports of suspicious mail and was conducting checks across the board, while working with other law enforcement agencies to identify the suspect.

Similar attempts to carry out mail-based attacks have occurred in the United States before elections in the past. Before the 2024 presidential election, packages containing white powder were delivered to election offices in 17 states. In 2023, suspicious envelopes were also sent to election offices in at least five states, with fentanyl detected in some of them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.