Letters with 'suspicious substances' sent to US senators and election offices

BREAKING: Letters containing 'suspicious substances' sent to US senators and election offices across multiple states including Oklahoma, Ohio and Louisiana, with the FBI now investigating.

Letters with white powder are landing at senators' offices and election boards across America.

The FBI and the Postal Inspection Service are investigating suspicious mailings in multiple states, Oklahoma, Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware among them. At least five Democratic senators were targeted, including Chuck Schumer, Alex Padilla, Chris Murphy and Kirsten Gillibrand. Most of those letters were intercepted before they ever reached a desk.

Louisiana wasn't so lucky. A staffer at the secretary of state's office opened one on Tuesday and the building was evacuated. Tests found nothing harmful, and it has since reopened. Delaware's election office opened one today as well.

Senator Padilla called it a stark reminder of the danger facing people who administer elections, and the timing is what weighs on me. The midterms are weeks away. In 2024, officials in seventeen states got packages like this. The year before, some envelopes carried fentanyl. This pattern isn't new, and it's aimed squarely at the people who count the votes.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.