PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — U.S. senators and election offices in Delaware were targeted with letters containing an unknown white powder Thursday afternoon.
The powder was not identified, but officials at the Delaware Department of Elections say they followed security and USPS guidelines for handling suspicious mail. They say the letter was isolated and non-essential staffers were sent home out of an abundance of caution. Officials also said they shut down the office’s HVAC system.
The office of Senator Chris Coons says they are working with law enforcement, and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester says U.S. Capitol Police intercepted another piece of mail addressed to her office. Both Delaware Senators are Democrats, as are several other Senators who received suspicious mail, including California’s Alex Padilla and New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand.
As of Thursday, at least 15 states’ election offices have reported suspicious mail. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says a suspicious package addressed to the Pennsylvania Department of State was intercepted Wednesday, and at least two states’ offices, Louisiana and Oklahoma, were evacuated this week.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission says their tests have come back negative for any dangerous substances, but the packages are reminiscent of a similar threat from 2023, when six states’ election offices received powders in the mail that included trace amounts of the powerful opioid fentanyl.
In a statement, the FBI says they are investigating the mailings and the substance and looking for the person or people behind the mail.
