Suspicious Letters Reach Congressional Offices, Including Sen. Murphy's, as FBI Probe Widens

Since white powder letters forced evacuations at election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the investigation has moved to Capitol Hill. Congressional offices were also among the recipients of suspicious mailings, federal officials said.

The U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms sent a notice Thursday, Oct. 15, to chiefs of staff, administrative managers and state directors. It said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police were investigating "multiple letters containing suspicious substances" mailed to addresses nationwide, including multiple congressional offices.

"Law enforcement officials are working to intercept any additional letters before they are delivered, however, it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations," the notice said.

Murphy's office confirms it was targeted

A spokesman for Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, confirmed his office was one of those hit. "Sen. Murphy's office was sent a letter with a suspicious substance," spokesman Josh Sorbe said. He said the FBI, the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police alerted the office promptly.

Sorbe said that because of those efforts and "various safety protocols, the Senator and staff were not in immediate danger."

Brendan Donahue, deputy chief inspector at the Postal Inspection Service, told reporters that some letters contained an unknown substance and went to "various addresses nationwide," including secretary of state offices and related election offices. He said some letters have been intercepted.

Donahue declined to give a count of incidents or discuss possible connections between them, citing the ongoing investigation. "Any threat or attack on an election official is unacceptable," he said.

The FBI has said it is working to identify "the individual or individuals responsible." An FBI spokesperson declined to confirm specific letters.

The DSA return address

The Senate notice included a photo of one envelope. Its top-left corner carried a return address for the Democratic Socialists of America headquarters in New York City, according to the notice as described by Fox News Digital.

No agency has said who sent the letters or tied the return address to a sender. The FBI has not commented on it.

A DSA representative told the New York Post that the organization "has not occupied this office address since 2013." The representative added that the group is no longer headquartered at 75 Maiden Lane. Fox News Digital said it had not heard back from the DSA on its own request for comment.

Forbes reported that the address appears on membership forms the DSA lists. The DSA has not publicly said how its old address ended up on the envelope.

What the tests have shown so far

Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said an employee in her Elections Division opened a package Tuesday and found white powder. "Law enforcement responded to today's incident and conducted tests that found no evidence of harmful substances," she wrote on Facebook. Deputy Secretary of State Trey Williams said preliminary on-site tests did not identify the powder as harmful.

The Oklahoma State Election Board evacuated its office Tuesday morning after receiving a letter with white powder. Paul Ziriax, the board's secretary, said no one was hurt.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday that his office was the "intended recipient" of a suspicious letter that the Postal Service intercepted. No injuries have been reported in any incident.

Test results for the congressional letters have not been made public.

A familiar tactic ahead of an election

The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors said they were "deeply concerned." Their joint statement said threats against election officials "have no place in our democracy."

John Cohen, a former acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, told CNN the threat environment is "rapidly evolving, dynamic, technologically enabled and dangerous." He added that state and local officials are "better prepared than ever."

There is precedent. Election offices in five states received white powder letters in November 2023, and several of those letters later tested positive for fentanyl, according to Forbes. Similar mailings went to election officials weeks before the 2024 presidential election. Testing in those cases found non-lethal substances such as flour or baking soda, Forbes reported.

Federal law makes sending white powder through the mail illegal when it is meant to scare, intimidate or hoax. Forbes put the potential penalties at up to 5 to 20 years in prison where threats or intimidation of an official are involved.

The next developments to watch are how many letters investigators have intercepted, what the lab tests show on the congressional mailings, and whether the FBI or Postal Inspection Service says what the DSA return address means for the investigation.

The midterm elections are less than three weeks away.