More than 20 election offices have been targeted with suspicious packages this week

Marshall Cohen, Sara Murray and Ali Main, CNN

(CNN) — Suspicious packages were sent this week to predetermination offices successful much than 20 states, starring to an FBI investigation, triggering evacuations and rattling staff, according to a CNN study of authorities offices and Associated Press reporting.

The threatening envelopes arrived arsenic predetermination officials crossed nan state hole for Saturday’s deadline to nonstop nan first ballots to overseas and subject voters and arsenic states are weeks distant from nan wide commencement of in-person early voting and mail-in balloting.

According to CNN and AP reporting, suspicious envelopes were received by predetermination officials, aliases intercepted connected nan measurement to officials successful 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.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday that his agency has been notified by nan US Postal Service that a suspicious package was “headed our way,” and that nan message work will effort to intercept it, arsenic it antecedently did past November erstwhile an letter cover of fentanyl was sent to an predetermination agency successful Fulton County.

“We’re connected nan lookout for it, and truthful are they,” Raffensperger said of nan package.

Karen Brinson Bell, nan executive head of nan North Carolina State Board of Elections, told CNN that that nan battleground authorities was besides targeted this week.

Bell said unit are now wearing gloves while processing nan message and isolating parts of nan agency erstwhile they find a suspicious point that mightiness beryllium contaminated. An charismatic from nan Kentucky Secretary of State’s agency besides told CNN that, aft this week’s incident, they directed unit to deterioration gloves while handling mail, “out of an abundance of caution.”

“When we person to return these other measures, it really adds to nan workload and it really adds to nan worry that we person astir doing our job, that really what we want to do is make judge group are capable to vote,” Bell said.

Officials successful Kansas and New York said successful statements and interviews that, aft nan letters were noticed, they evacuated their offices. There are immoderate early indications that astatine slightest immoderate of nan letters did not really incorporate immoderate vulnerable chemicals aliases substances.

Oklahoma officials said testing by a section hazmat squad “identified nan constituent arsenic wheat cereal” aliases “flour.” David Becker, who runs nan nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research and advises predetermination officials crossed nan country, said Tuesday that immoderate his contacts successful nan states told him that “the powder appears to beryllium innocuous.”

“Clearly, this is an effort to terrorize nan nationalist servants who tally our elections,” Becker said, praising “Republicans and Democrats” who helm section predetermination offices. “These efforts to terrorize our nationalist servants are not succeeding, which is bully news.”

At slightest immoderate of nan envelopes had a return reside successful Takoma Park, Maryland, and claimed to beryllium from a group called nan “United States Traitor Elimination Army,” according to a photograph of 1 of nan envelopes that was obtained by CNN.

“The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a bid of suspicious mailings sent to predetermination officials successful respective states,” nan FBI said successful a statement. “Some of nan letters contained an chartless constituent and we are moving intimately pinch our rule enforcement partners to respond to each incident and safely cod nan letters.”

The FBI said national investigators are now trying to find really galore letters were sent, who put them successful nan message and “the motive down nan letters.”

This is nan 2nd nationalist activity of suspicious envelopes nan past twelvemonth aft a akin incident past November. A root progressive pinch a group that coordinates pinch predetermination officials crossed nan state told CNN nan 2023 incident led galore of these offices to measurement up precautions and information measures, truthful they were amended protected this clip around.

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