(RepublicanDaily.org) – Elections offices in at least five states have received suspicious letters, some containing fentanyl, and authorities are looking for the sender.
The letters have added to the dangers poll workers face across the country and have delayed the tallying of ballots for several municipal races. Some letters, destined for election officials in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington, were intercepted before they could reach their destinations. The presence of fentanyl in four letters was reported to electoral officials on Thursday.
On Wednesday, envelopes were addressed to election officials in Georgia and Washington, and authorities have labeled these items as “suspicious” and are investigating them as possible acts of “terrorism.”
The white powder contained in an envelope delivered to the Spokane County Elections Office tested positive for fentanyl but negative for agents and explosives, according to the Spokane Police Department. Another powdered packet delivered to election workers in King County also tested positive for fentanyl, according to a presumptive field test. Renton Police Department Detective Robert Onishi told the Seattle Times that the powder will undergo further laboratory testing to confirm its contents and assess the amount of fentanyl present.
According to Julie Wise, the county’s elections director, a letter received by the King County elections office in Seattle appeared to be identical to one received during the August primary. Naloxone, a medicine used to reverse the effects of an overdose, was dispatched to the office as a precaution as authorities attempted to intercept the mail.
Following the 2020 presidential election, Robb Pitts, chairman of the Fulton County Commission, reported that two election workers had been threatened. The letter featured a pentagram and an antifascist symbol associated with the political left.
During the August primary, election officials in King and Okanogan counties in Washington discovered suspicious envelopes.
Georgia and Washington state authorities have verified that the FBI is helping them with their investigation. Multiple incidences involving suspicious letters addressed to Washington state polling places prompted the FBI Seattle and its law enforcement partners to respond.
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