At least nine federal lawmakers from California, including Sen. Alex Padilla, are among the dozens of elected officials and state election offices nationwide that have received suspicious letters containing a white powdery substance, prompting police responses and evacuations.
The letters, which preliminary tests so far indicate do not contain a hazardous material, have been sent to both Democrat and Republican lawmakers, including California Reps. Gil Cisneros (D-Covina); Jimmy Panetta (D-Santa Cruz) and Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), among others.
Delivered just weeks before the hotly contested Nov. 3 general election, the letters have drawn bipartisan condemnation.
Kiley said Friday that one of his staff members opened an envelope containing the substance and immediately placed it in a quarantine enclosure designed for such an incident. It prompted a response by the Roseville Fire Hazmat Task Force, and there were no reports of injuries.
“This incident highlights — once again — why we need to bring down the temperature in our politics and embrace a return to civility and common sense,” Kiley posted on X.
Panetta said an envelope containing the powder was delivered to his Santa Cruz district office and opened by a staff member, prompting the office to be evacuated, with staff later cleared by medical personnel.
“Threats, fear-mongering, and violence against public servants have become far too common over the past decade and undermine our democracy,” Panetta said. “But these attempts to intimidate us will not deter us from doing our job.”
The nationwide incidents have prompted an investigation by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police, which was disclosed Thursday in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms. It said that law enforcement officials were working to intercept any additional letters, but “it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.”
On Saturday, the FBI said it was continuing to work “with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident” and identify the responsible parties.
The recipients of the letters include national figures, including Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, whose Houston office reportedly received a letter Friday afternoon prompting a lockdown, and former presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who posted on X that the letter was sent to her state office but intercepted by postal workers.
Padilla said postal inspectors intercepted a suspicious parcel addressed to his office, according to reports. He could not be reached for comment Saturday.
State election offices in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming have also received packages as of Friday afternoon, NBC reported.
The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors issued a joint statement condemning what they said were threats against election staff.
“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” they said.
This is not the first time suspicious packages have been sent to elected officials prior to an election. In 2024, at least six secretaries of state offices received threatening letters containing suspicious substances, though hazardous material was not found, according to media reports.
There was also a similar threat in 2023 when election offices in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state received mailings that contained a white powder, some of which contained traces of the powerful opioid fentanyl, NBC reported.
The other California lawmakers who issued statements that they were sent letters this week were Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek). Rep. Ami Bera (D-Sacramento); Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) and Rep. Josh Harder, (D-Stockton) also reportedly received letters.
With widespread reports about the letter circulating among elected officials, a staff member of DeSaulnier’s Walnut Creek office noticed a letter matching the description and return address on Friday afternoon and called law enforcement without opening it, the lawmaker posted on X.
“Threats and political violence seem to have reached a fever pitch in our country, and I urge my fellow Americans to stand united against such attempts at undermining our democracy,” he said in the post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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