White-powder envelopes sent to dozens of congressional offices ahead of midterms
Federal investigators said they are probing a wave of suspicious white-powder mailings that have targeted more than three dozen U. S. congressional and election offices in the weeks before the midterm elections. The investigation follows reports that secretaries of state in Ohio, Louisiana and Oklahoma received envelopes containing an unknown white powder, prompting the U. S.
Postal Service, the FBI and state police to launch inquiries. Law-enforcement officials later confirmed that similar letters were sent to congressional offices and election officials in at least 15 states. A package discovered at Representative Jimmy Panetta’s district office in California led to the evacuation of a county building, and a staff member who opened the envelope called 911. In Utah, a postal inspector intercepted a comparable envelope addressed to Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson and turned it over to the FBI.
