Suspicious packages sent to election officials across US

The FBI and the US Postal Department are investigating suspicious packages received by predetermination officials successful 17 states.

Federal investigators said they were collecting the packages and that immoderate contained “an chartless substance”, though determination were nary reports of injuries.

They were sent to secretaries of authorities and authorities predetermination officials crossed a swathe of the state from New York to Alaska.

It comes amid reports of rising threats directed astatine predetermination officials crossed the US and warnings of governmental unit arsenic November's statesmanlike predetermination approaches.

The FBI and US Postal Department said they were trying to find however galore letters were sent and who was down them, arsenic good arsenic their motive.

“Some of the letters contained an chartless substance and we are moving intimately with our instrumentality enforcement partners to respond to each incidental and safely cod the letters,” the agencies said successful a connection to BBC’s US spouse CBS News.

The Associated Press quality bureau reported that packages were sent to predetermination officials successful Alaska, Georgia, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Iowa, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold wrote successful a station connected X, formerly Twitter, that whoever posted the letters had called themselves arsenic the “US Traitor Elimination Army”.

Officials successful astatine slightest 4 of the states said determination was nary menace posed by the substances recovered successful the packages. In Oklahoma, the Board of Elections said the substance was recovered to beryllium flour.

In an interrogation with CBS, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said her bureau was receiving threats regular done voicemails, emails, societal media oregon successful person, adding that “it’s escalating”.

This is not the archetypal clip suspicious message was mailed to US predetermination offices.

Last November, offices successful Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington were sent envelopes with fentanyl oregon different substances.

Federal investigators are separately questioning a gunman who was recovered lurking successful bushes connected a Florida play people wherever Trump was putting connected Sunday.