FBI Investigating White Powder Letters to Lawmakers and Election Offices Nationwide; Early Tests Show No Hazardous Material

Since a Louisiana election employee opened a package of white powder on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the mailings have spread from state election offices to Capitol Hill and district offices across the country. As of Sunday, Oct. 18, no suspect has been publicly identified.

The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are leading the investigation, with U.S. Capitol Police. An FBI spokesperson said the agencies are working "to respond to each incident" and to identify "the individual or individuals responsible." The bureau has declined to confirm how many mailings were intercepted.

How the letters spread

The first confirmed hits were at state election offices. Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry's office was evacuated and closed Tuesday after an employee opened a package. Her office said police tests "found no evidence of harmful substances," and it reopened Wednesday.

The Oklahoma State Election Board also evacuated Tuesday after an envelope with white powder arrived. Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said no one was harmed.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday his office was an intended recipient, but federal investigators intercepted the letter. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson's office was also a target, and his spokeswoman Liz Jonson said the letter was intercepted.

By Thursday, Oct. 15, the Senate and House sergeants at arms had warned top Hill staff. The Senate notice said officials were working to intercept more letters, but "it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations."

Congressional offices on both sides of the aisle

A person familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office was among the intended targets. Sen. Chris Murphy's office confirmed it was sent a letter with a suspicious substance. Sen. Alex Padilla's office said the FBI notified it that a letter to one of its offices was intercepted by the Postal Service.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said on X that a letter sent to her state office was intercepted by postal workers. Sens. Mike Rounds, Pete Ricketts, Tina Smith and Ted Cruz, along with more than 15 House members, have said their district or state offices received packages. Cruz's Houston office was reportedly locked down Friday afternoon.

At least nine California members of Congress were targeted, according to the Los Angeles Times. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican, said a staffer opened an envelope Friday and placed it in a quarantine enclosure, and the Roseville Fire Hazmat Task Force responded. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, a Democrat, said his Santa Cruz office was evacuated after a staffer opened an envelope. Staff there were later cleared by medical personnel.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said his Schaumburg district office received a similar package Friday. The Schaumburg Fire Department, a postal inspector and Capitol Police removed it. "It's been a long week," he wrote on X Saturday.

Brendan Donahue, deputy chief inspector at the Postal Inspection Service, has said investigators found unknown substances in some of the envelopes. Preliminary testing so far indicates the powder is not hazardous, and further testing continues.

Reach and open questions

NBC reported that, as of Friday afternoon, election offices in 26 states had received packages: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The FBI has not confirmed that tally.

The Department of Homeland Security has also said Texas ICE offices received envelopes with suspicious white powder. Authorities have not publicly tied those to the others.

NBC 10 Boston reported that some of the letters carried a New York return address linked to the Democratic Socialists of America. The group said it has not had offices at that location for some time. The FBI has not commented on the return address or any attribution, and a return address on a threatening letter is not proof of who mailed it.

The reaction has been bipartisan. Kiley said the incident shows why "we need to bring down the temperature in our politics." Panetta said, "Threats, fearmongering, and violence against public servants have become far too common over the past decade." LaRose called the mailings "cowardly threats" that will not deter Ohio from running secure elections.

There is precedent. In 2024, suspicious packages were sent to secretaries of state ahead of that November election.

Election offices are mailing out ballots right now, and the Nov. 3 vote is 16 days away. LaRose has told Ohio's county boards of elections to stay vigilant. The FBI has not said whether it has a suspect or whether the mailings came from one person or several.