Elected Officials Continue to Be Targets of Threats

A Kent, Washington woman has been charged with sending fake anthrax letters to the White House in Washington D.C. and the King County, Washington State government. Filing charges April 13, federal prosecutors in Seattle contended the woman mailed an envelope addressed to the President containing white powder resembling the deadly bacteria. She was arrested April 12 and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing. According to a criminal complaint, a letter carrier received the suspicious envelope April 11 at an address in the 3600 block of South 262nd Street in Kent. A postal inspector examining the black envelope found it contained a white powder similar in appearance to dried anthrax. A U.S. Secret Service agent said in court that searching the envelope, investigators found a letter wrapped in plastic and filled with white powder. The woman is also suspected of mailing two similar letters to the King County Sheriffs Office, the agent continued. The powder in the envelopes is believed to have been flour and baby powder.

In New York, a suspicious package that was delivered to the Albany office of a New York state senator April 12 indicate the liquid that arrived with a stuffed monkey appears to be perfume, according to state police. A police captain said that it does not seem as though anything in the package was dangerous. However, state police, postal inspectors, and the FBI are investigating.

In Arizona, a death threat made against an Arizona state senator is being investigated by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) in Phoenix. The senator received the letter and said he is concerned but prepared. The senator said after the shooting of an Arizona U.S. Representative in January, he carries a concealed weapon all the time, and the letter he just received is another reason why. The letter warned the senator to: Be very ready. The letter originated from Flagstaff, but it did not have a return name or a return address. DPS is investigating this death threat. The department said it tells lawmakers to keep a log of all threatening letters or calls.