Illinois Man Charged for Sending Suspicious Letters to Congress

An Illinois resident is facing felony charges after allegedly mailing letters filled with an unknown white powder to several members of Congress. This information comes from a criminal complaint filed recently.

Matthew G. Unglesbee has been charged with providing false information and mailing threatening communications after four lawmakers received letters that had his return address. According to the documents, Unglesbee claimed the substance in the letters was just salt and that he sent them as a practical joke.

The FBI was alerted about this situation on October 16 when a tipster reported overhearing Unglesbee bragging in a restaurant about sending suspicious materials to congressional offices. The informant was said to have shared Unglesbee’s full name, address, and date of birth with law enforcement.

Following the tip, agents from the FBI’s Chicago field office responded to three congressional offices in northern Illinois. This response was prompted not only by the tip but also by a 911 call made by one of the congressional offices.

As per the complaint, a staff member at the first office that received a letter felt it contained a powder and could even hear something inside. Alarmed, the staff member called 911.

Interestingly, that particular office had already received a similar letter a few weeks earlier, which might explain their heightened alertness.

All four letters included a white granular substance along with a handwritten note that simply said, “HA HA.” In one instance, the FBI responded to another office after a senator in the Northern District of Illinois reported receiving a similar envelope that included a note saying, “HAH enjoy the gift.”

All four letters had Unglesbee’s name and return address on them. An FBI Task Force Officer characterized these letters as intimidation attempts and noted that preliminary lab tests found no harmful chemicals or biological threats in the powder.

During an interview conducted at his home, Unglesbee reportedly admitted to sending the letters. He mentioned he had overheard someone talking about similar cases at a restaurant.

He also confessed to using salt because he thought it would look like anthrax and anticipated that people would react by putting on hazmat suits. Despite claiming it was a joke, the complaint indicates that he acknowledged that the recipients could see it as a legitimate threat.

Additionally, the FBI found a fifth letter at Unglesbee’s home that was addressed to one of the congressional offices in Washington, D.C. It was determined that he sent the letters on October 19.