Whoever is mailing scares to America’s election offices made it to Montgomery this week.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen’s office confirmed Friday that a suspicious package arrived Thursday afternoon.
“The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama National Guard Civil Support Team, and United States Postal Inspection Service responded to the Secretary of State’s Office immediately,” the office said in a statement. “Alabama National Guard-CST conducted extensive testing and the Federal Bureau of Investigation took custody of the package. No dangerous or hazardous substance was identified on or in the package.”
The office said the incident “is still under active investigation” and that it “will make no further comments at this point,” directing questions to the FBI.
Nobody has said publicly what was in the Alabama package, where it was mailed from or who sent it. The FBI, which now has it, is not saying either.
Alabama joins a list that was already long. Election offices in at least 15 states — Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin — reported suspicious mail this week, less than three weeks before Election Day.
Oklahoma’s state election board evacuated Tuesday morning after an envelope arrived containing what board secretary Paul Ziriax called “suspicious white powder.”
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said an employee in her Elections Division opened a package Tuesday and found white powder.
“Law enforcement responded to today’s incident and conducted tests that found no evidence of harmful substances,” she wrote on Facebook.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday that postal inspectors intercepted a powder-filled package addressed to his office before it got there.
“Election officials should never have to fear for their personal safety while performing their duties, and there is no place in a peaceful democracy for violence, threats or acts of intimidation,” LaRose said.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
