DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) – More states are now confirmed to have been targeted with suspicious packages intended for elections officials.
Local and national reports, including CNN and the Associated Press, have confirmed investigations concerning 23 states.
Here is the latest list:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
Some packages contained a white powder and forced evacuations in elections offices. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security alerted elections officials to be on the lookout for the suspicious packages, according to a police report in Missouri that detailed the incident that involved that state’s secretary of state’s office.
A spokeswoman in the FBI’s Omaha office provided this statement to Gray Media Iowa about the investigation into what has happened across the country:
“The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to election officials in several states. Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident and safely collect the letters.
We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters. As this is an ongoing matter we will not be commenting further on the investigation, but the public can be assured safety is our top priority. We would also like to remind everyone to exercise care in handling mail, especially from unrecognized senders. If you see something suspicious, please contact law enforcement immediately.”
The threats against elections officials come about six weeks before the November elections and at a time when elections officials are already dealing with an onslaught of lies and conspiracy theories about massive voter fraud.
Those claims have escalated following the 2020 election, despite state and federal investigations and dozens of court cases not finding sufficient evidence to prove those allegations.
The National Association of Secretaries of State released this statement about the suspicious packages.
About the author: Midwest native Dave Price is Gray Television’s Iowa Political Director for 10 stations that broadcast in the state and has been covering local, state and national politics from Iowa since 2001.
Dave produces and hosts “Inside Iowa Politics,” a weekly, in-depth show focused on interviews with top leaders on politics, issues, challenges and solutions that impact the state.
He has written two books about the Iowa Caucuses (“Caucus Chaos” and “Caucus Chaos Trump”). Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter): @idaveprice Meta/Facebook: DavePriceNews Instagram: idaveprice and LinkedIn: Dave Price.
Dave welcomes your thoughts on what answers to seek from politicians and what issues challenge our communities.
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Publish date : 2024-09-21 08:02:00
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