Election officials in more than a dozen states have received suspicious packages in recent days, raising safety concerns less than seven weeks before millions of Americans go to the polls to elect the next president and Congress.
Election offices in several states, including Kansas and Iowa, were temporarily evacuated after receiving the packages, but the packages have not been verified to contain any dangerous materials.
“Some of the letters contained unknown substances. We work closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident and safely recover the letters,” spokespeople for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and FBI told The Post on Wednesday.
“We are working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, who is responsible for the letters and what the motive behind the letters is.”
In at least one case, the return address on the packages was listed as “United States Traitor Expulsion Army,” and local officials said many of the packages contained a white powdery substance.
The Post reports in Colorado, Tennessee, Indiana, Wyoming, Mississippi, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Connecticut.
Other affected states include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Oklahoma and Colorado. The Washington Post reported. Tuesday.
The targeted positions included the secretary of state, attorney general and other public officials with duties such as election monitoring.
No injuries were reported.
Officials urged state governments to “exercise caution when handling mail, especially those from unknown senders.”
“With less than 50 days until the November 5, 2024 general election, disturbing trends continue, including a second assassination attempt on a presidential candidate and threats and intimidation of election officials,” it said. The National Association of Secretaries of State said in a statement:.
“We are grateful that our colleagues and their staff are safe and we are also extremely grateful to the police for their professional handling of these incidents,” the group added. “This must stop – there is no place in our democracy for any political violence, intimidation or intimidation.”
Department of Justice officials are investigating reports of threats against election officials across the country. The country has warned “We are in a new era where election officials are being scapegoated, targeted and attacked.”
Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump issued a public “cease and desist” warning of legal action against Democrats, accusing them of engaging in “rampant fraud and wrongdoing.”
“The 2024 election, now in the polls, will be under the most rigorous expert scrutiny. And if I win, those who cheated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including with lengthy prison sentences, to ensure this perversion of justice never happens again.” He posted on Truth Social September 7th.
Trump, 78, has long claimed widespread voter fraud made it impossible for him to win reelection in 2020. There is no evidence to support those claims.
Early voting for the 2024 presidential election has already begun in some parts of the country.
