Suspicious packages now also confirmed in other federal states

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) – Suspicious packages intended for election officials have been confirmed to have been sent in additional states.

Local and national reports, including CNN and the Associated Press, have confirmed investigations in 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 led to forced evacuations at polling stations. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security instructed election officials to be on the lookout for the suspicious packages, according to a Missouri police report detailing the incident at the state’s secretary of state’s office.

A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Omaha office provided the following statement to Gray Media Iowa regarding the investigation into the incidents that occurred across the country:

“The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a number of suspicious mailings sent to election officials in multiple states. Some of the mail contained an unknown substance, and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident and safely collect the mail.”

We are also working with our partners to find out how many letters were sent, who was responsible for the letters and what the motive behind the letters was. As this is an ongoing matter, we will not comment further on the investigation, but the public can be assured that safety is our top priority. We would also like to remind everyone to be cautious when handling mail, especially from unknown senders. If you notice anything suspicious, please contact police immediately.”

The threats against election officials come about six weeks before the November election and at a time when election officials are already facing a barrage of lies and conspiracy theories about massive voter fraud.

These claims have increased since the 2020 election, although state and federal investigations and dozens of lawsuits have not found enough evidence to support these allegations.

The National Association of Secretaries of State released this statement regarding the suspicious packages.

About the author: A Midwestern native, Dave Price is Iowa politics director for Gray Television for 10 stations broadcasting in the state and has covered local, state and national politics in Iowa since 2001.

Dave produces and hosts “Inside Iowa Politics,” a weekly in-depth show focusing on interviews with top politicians about policies, issues, challenges and solutions affecting 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 Facebook: DavePriceNews Instagram: idavepreis and LinkedIn: Dave Price.

Dave welcomes your thoughts on what answers we can expect from politicians and what issues challenge our communities.

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