Senate, House offices sent mail containing suspicious powder

Congressional offices are again under threat, this time from a suspicious powder, just days after authorities foiled an attempted suicide bombing at the Capitol.

On Wednesday, Senate Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer circulated two emails to congressional offices warning them to be on the lookout for letters containing “a suspicious powdery substance.”

According to the email, on Tuesday a Senate State office and a House District office received threatening mail that contained the substance. The names of the lawmakers whose offices were targeted have not yet been disclosed.

“We are not releasing the identity of the Senate offices,” a Senate Sergeant at Arms employee told The Hill.

According to Gainer, the letters received were tested and the enclosed substance found to be harmless. But, he added, there were threats of more letters to come.

“The author of these letters has indicated that additional letters containing a powdery substance will be arriving at more Senate offices and that some of these letters may contain an actual harmful material,” he wrote. “Although all letters received thus far have proved harmless, it is essential that we treat every piece of suspicious mail as if it may, in fact, be harmful.”

Congressional offices are directed to pay special attention to letters postmarked from Portland, Ore., or with a specific return address containing the The MIB, L.L.C., he added.

Gainer noted that his office was working closely with both federal and local law enforcement during the ongoing investigation. Both the Capitol Police and FBI did not immediately return requests for comment Wednesday.

“In the meantime, if any mail is received from this return address, it should remain unopened and the local authorities contacted immediately, followed by notification to the United States Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section,” Gainer concluded.

Members of Congress are not the only reported targets of the mail attack. According to local news reports, letters addressed to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were also sent to parent company Viacom. The FBI was said to be investigating the matter.

The threats come just one week after the arrest of a potential suicide bomber near the Capitol. On Friday, the FBI arrested 29-year-old Amine El Khalifi, an illegal immigrant from Mexico residing in Alexandria, Va., after a one-year sting operation.

El Khalifi has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States, according to the Department of Justice.

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