FBI Probes Suspicious Letters Sent to Congress and Election Offices

Updated 03:35 UTC

The Arizona Capitol executive tower was evacuated on Thursday, Oct 15, after staff in the Secretary of State office opened an envelope that held white powder, the Arizona Republic reported. The office said its team was alerted at about 3:45 p.m. local time. Staff who were near the envelope were isolated and were being medically examined, and access to the floor was shut off. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Governor Katie Hobbs were not in the building at the time, their offices said. No injuries have been reported in any of the incidents, CNN reported.

Arizona state police, its hazardous materials team and the FBI are investigating, Fox 10 Phoenix reported. Police said the powder has not been identified, and it is not clear how the envelope entered the building or who it was meant for. Fontes called the incident a targeted threat, the Republic and Fox 10 reported.

CNN put the wider count at election offices in at least eight states this week. Louisiana and Oklahoma offices were evacuated on Tuesday. Georgia, Maryland and Ohio officials said envelopes for their offices were intercepted before delivery. Wisconsin election officials said mail they received was examined and was deemed not dangerous. Nebraska officials said an envelope was not opened and was turned over to the FBI. CNN also reported that postal inspectors intercepted mail for the New York office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and for Senator Raphael Warnock and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and that Senator Alex Padilla was told a letter for one of his offices was intercepted by the Postal Service.

WASHINGTON. Federal agents are investigating a series of letters with suspicious substances mailed to congressional offices and election offices across the United States, and officials are telling anyone who receives one to treat it as potentially hazardous.

The investigation came to light on Thursday, Oct 15, 2026, in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms that the Associated Press obtained. The notice told Senate offices that law enforcement was working to intercept more letters before delivery, and warned that some could still reach their destinations. Bloomberg Government reported a similar alert sent to Capitol Hill staff on Thursday.

Three agencies are on the case: the FBI, the US Postal Inspection Service and the US Capitol Police. On Capitol Hill the threat appeared limited to the Senate, a person familiar with the matter told the AP, while the House was monitoring the situation.

Election offices in three states

The letters were not only sent to Washington. Packages with a powdery substance forced the evacuation of election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma this week, the AP reported. In Louisiana, an elections worker who opened one package was taken to a hospital as a precaution and was not hurt, and police found no sign of a harmful substance there, according to reports from the state.

Ohio was the third state named. Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the Postal Service intercepted a package with white powder that was meant for his office, and he noted that similar mailings had gone to election officials in several other states.

The FBI said in a statement that it and the Postal Inspection Service are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to addresses nationwide, including secretary of state offices and their election offices. Some of the letters held an unknown substance, the bureau said, and investigators are working to find who sent them. Officials have not given an exact count of the letters, and no injuries have been reported.

Deputy Chief Postal Inspector Brendan Donahue told reporters on Thursday that a threat or attack on an election official is unacceptable. The national associations of secretaries of state and of state election directors issued a joint statement condemning threats against election staff.

Three weeks before the vote

The mailings land three weeks before the midterm elections on Nov 3, 2026, when election offices are at their busiest and mail ballots are already moving. For election workers, the scare is familiar. In 2023, election offices in several states received envelopes that contained fentanyl, the AP noted, part of a run of threats and hoaxes that has followed US elections in recent years.

No suspect has been named, and officials have not said what the unknown substance is, or whether every letter held the same material. What they have said, in plain terms, is that the letters should not be opened and should be reported at once. The investigation is open, and more letters may still be in the mail.