Election offices across the U.S. say they’ve received suspicious letters allegedly laced with powdery substances, according to several reports.
More than twelve letters were delivered to public officials in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington state, CNN reported Friday, citing a spokesperson from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The majority of the letters have allegedly been sent to election offices.
The FBI, the DOJ and the U.S. Postal Service were alerted to the situation and are investigating the letters as connected, not independent, incidents for the time being, a law enforcement official told the outlet.
“Our office has considered, since day one, security to be our highest priority,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said at a press conference Thursday, video shared by Fox5 Atlanta shows. “There’s been four envelopes received out in Washington State and there’s one headed this way towards Fulton County.”
The letter on its way to Fulton County had already found to be laced with fentanyl, Raffensperger added.
“Some people like to call fentanyl a drug. It’s actually poison; it’ll kill you. It’ll kill you very quickly, very quickly, and it’s very dangerous. We lost our son five and a half years ago due to fentanyl overdose. We know how deadly this stuff is,” he continued. (RELATED: Dems Massively Outspent Republicans On Ads Ahead Of November Elections)
Officials were trained with Narcan use in the event of the letter’s arrival, he said. “Anyone … running for high office in this land, they need to condemn this stuff. … If they don’t condemn this, they’re not ready for the office that they’re running for. This is domestic terrorism and it needs to be condemned,” Raffensperger continued.
Staffers in Seattle reportedly detected a white powder in a letter received Wednesday at King County, Washington State, and immediately isolated the letter, alerted law enforcement officers and evacuated the building, according to CNN.
“It’s devastating. … [The election workers] are human beings. They have families. They are here to do a job. They believe in democracy,” King County elections director Julie Wise told the outlet.
Off-year elections were held Tuesday across the U.S.