More lawmakers report suspicious packages at offices

Several lawmakers said Friday their offices across the country had received suspicious mailings following reports earlier this week of letters containing unknown substances at U.S. election offices.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and over 15 House lawmakers said their district or state offices received these packages.

Klobuchar said in a Friday social media statement that officials intercepted the letter before it reached her Minnesota office.

“Thanks to the postal workers and investigators who identified and intercepted it, no one in our office was in immediate danger,” the Democratic senator wrote. “We’re grateful to everyone involved for their quick response and we will continue working closely with law enforcement as the investigation continues.”

Rounds shared an image of a letter sent to his Sioux Falls, N.D., office, and said the regional team contacted local authorities, who investigated and evacuated the office.

“This situation is deeply concerning and follows a trend of intimidating tactics that impact our team members,” he wrote on social media . “This has no place in our nation. America is better than this.”

California Reps. Laura Friedman (D), Jimmy Panetta (D), Gil Cisneros (D) and Linda Sánchez (D) all reported receiving suspicious packages at their district offices and said their staff members were safe.

Panetta, who represents the state’s 19th District, said a staff member at his Santa Cruz office opened an envelope that contained a “suspicious white powder.”

“Upon realizing that there was powder in the envelope, she immediately put the envelope in the garbage can, cleared fellow staff members out of the office, and called 911,” the lawmaker said in a social media post . “My priority is the safety and security of my staff and, thankfully, she and the other staff have been initially cleared by medical officials.”

In Florida, Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost and Darren Soto shared similar reports from their district offices in Orlando and Kissimmee, respectively.

Soto shared on social media that his district office received “advance notice” from Frost’s Orlando office to “monitor our mail.”

“We are working with federal, state, and local law enforcement to support an investigation,” Soto continued. “Political violence has no place in our democracy, and we hope those who perpetrated this crime are brought to justice.”

On Thursday, spokespeople for two Democratic lawmakers, Sens. Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Alex Padilla (Calif.) told The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation, they were notified that authorities intercepted suspicious packages addressed to their offices.

These suspicious mailings come just weeks ahead of the midterm elections . Before the 2024 presidential election, election officials in several states reported receiving packages that contained white powder.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), whose district office also reported a similar package, decried the timing of these suspicious mailings in a statement shared on social media.

“This seemingly deliberate and widespread attack on our democracy and elections is unacceptable,” the Washington lawmaker wrote.

An FBI spokesperson told The Hill on Thursday that the agency was broadly inspecting reports of suspicious packages but declined to comment on specific instances.

“We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters,” the spokesperson said Thursday. “This FBI will continue to safeguard the public and secure elections for American citizens.”

The Hill has reached out to the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police regarding these new reports.