Authorities in at least two states are currently conducting investigations into a series of suspicious envelopes sent to election offices this week, an incident characterized by one state official as an act of “domestic terrorism.” Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs conveyed in a statement on Thursday that election workers in several counties discovered envelopes containing “unknown powdery substances” on Wednesday, leading to evacuations of those offices.
An initial examination of a white powdery substance in one envelope sent to the county elections office revealed a positive test for fentanyl, according to the Spokane Police Department.
In another instance, a letter addressed to an election office in Washington state contained a substance that tested positive for baking soda, not fentanyl, as communicated by Officer Shelbie Boyd of the Tacoma Police Department. Further analysis at a state lab will be conducted for confirmation.
Chris Loftis, the Director of Communications for Washington State Patrol, reported that a state bomb squad responding to an election office in Pierce County on Wednesday discovered a message indicating the letter’s intent was to “stop the election.”
Meanwhile, in Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that a suspicious letter was sent to election workers in Fulton County. Raffensperger clarified in a press conference that the letter was intercepted before reaching the election office, and there is currently no determined motive. No other counties in the state appear to have been targeted.
