Karen Handel, the Republican candidate in the Georgia House special election, received a suspicious package and threatening letter in the mail Thursday, according to police.
Police say at least five homes in the neighborhood received an envelope with a “white powdery substance” inside, reports WSB-TV. The FBI is now involved in the matter.
“We take all these threats seriously. We’ve been having a lot of issues with political signs over the past months. This has just been a situation over the campaign on both sides. We do not know the nature of the substance right now,” said Lisa Holland with the Roswell Police Department.
Handel addressed the threats in a Facebook statement.
“This afternoon we had some suspicious packages delivered to our house and to our neighbors,” she wrote. “The packages contained threatening letters and a suspicious substance. The police were quickly notified and street is now being blocked off. We will continue to coordinate with law enforcement as necessary.”
Yikes: Karen Handel says packages w/ “threatening letters and a suspicious substance” delivered to her home, her neighbors. #GA06 pic.twitter.com/Rjqz1PPW9P
— Alexis Levinson (@alexis_levinson) June 15, 2017
#DEVELOPING: Envelopes with powdery substance found in Karen Handel’s neighborhood https://t.co/HS5fd7E3kY pic.twitter.com/vbrKWRyQpo
— 11Alive News (@11AliveNews) June 15, 2017
Handel is facing off against Democrat Jon Ossoff in the race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.