FBI Intercepts Suspicious Letter Addressed To Top Connecticut Election Official

by Staff Report

HARTFORD, CT — Federal authorities intercepted a suspicious letter addressed to the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office this week, one of a series of mailings sent to election offices across the country, some of which contained a powdery substance.

The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the letters. Preliminary testing of substances recovered in several states has found no hazardous materials, according to the office of Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas.

Election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma were evacuated Tuesday after employees discovered envelopes containing a suspicious white powder. Tests on the envelope delivered to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s elections division in Baton Rouge found no evidence of harmful substances, WBRZ reported.

More than 100 suspicious letters have been mailed nationwide, though it is not clear how many went to election officials rather than politicians or other recipients, Votebeat reported.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ office was evacuated after it received a letter containing white powder that was later found to be harmless. Election offices in Wisconsin and Nebraska also received letters, the envelope sent to Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office being the second since 2024, while letters bound for Ohio, New Hampshire, Washington state, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Idaho, and South Dakota were intercepted before they arrived. A threatening letter containing powder was also intercepted before it reached Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon’s office, the Mesabi Tribune reported.

Connecticut’s two U.S. senators — Democrats Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal — were also among the targets. The FBI notified Murphy that a suspicious letter had been directed to his office, according to the Latin Times. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California received the same notice, and a letter addressed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York was intercepted before it reached his office.

Thomas’ office said that when it learned of the mailings, and before it knew whether any Connecticut election office had been targeted, it contacted local election officials to remind them of established procedures for handling mail safely. The FBI later notified the office that it was the intended target of one of the letters.

“I’m relieved that the substances tested so far have not been hazardous, but these incidents are still deplorable,” Thomas said in a statement. “Election workers are our neighbors, friends, and community members. No one should have to fear for their safety simply because they’re doing their jobs.”

Thomas said her office has spent the past couple of years building close partnerships with local election officials and federal agencies.

“Those relationships allow us to share information and respond quickly when situations like this arise,” she said.

It is not the first time a suspicious envelope has been addressed to Connecticut election officials. On Sept. 17, 2024, postal inspectors intercepted an envelope containing white powder at the West Hartford postal facility, CT Public reported. The FBI alerted Thomas’ office, which had already been warned to prepare and had protective gear on hand. “We are now seeing why that work has been so important,” Thomas said at the time.

Six months earlier, Thomas told the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee, during a hearing on a bill to protect election workers, that workers around the state were scared. Rep. Matt Blumenthal described “a constant stream of death threats.”

This week’s incidents come at a moment of deepening divisions and raw public rhetoric. A University of Chicago survey released in 2024 found that nearly 17% of U.S. adults — about 44 million people — said the use of force could be justified in connection with the presidential election. Researchers warned that while most Americans reject violence, the willingness of millions to accept it across the political spectrum shows how quickly heated words can harden into dangerous beliefs.

Thomas, a member of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), joined her counterparts in other states in condemning the mailings through a joint statement the association issued Wednesday with the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED).

“NASS and NASED are deeply concerned by these incidents,” the statement said. “As we have each stated in the past, threats against election officials and workers have no place in our democracy. Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties.”

The two organizations said election officials work closely with law enforcement and security partners to protect their staff and facilities, and that security measures and contingency plans are in place to respond to threats and emergencies while keeping essential election operations running.

“Safe and secure elections are a shared responsibility,” the statement said. “All Americans play a role in supporting the dedicated public servants who administer our elections and ensuring voters can participate safely and confidently.”

“Protecting the people who run our elections is a responsibility we all share,” Thomas said.

FILE PHOTO: Connecticut Republican Party Chair Ben Proto at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday, July 15, 2024. Credit: Denise Lockwood / Racine County Eye

In a statement released Friday, Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto condemned the letters, as well as the alleged threats from a Naugatuck man who is accused of threatening to kill Republicans and a public official.

“Let me be absolutely clear: Political violence, threats of violence, and intimidation have no place in our state, our country, or our political process. Period,” Proto said.

Proto condemned the letters mailed to Democratic elected officials, including Murphy, Blumenthal, and Thomas, as well as to election offices across the country, “regardless of who is responsible, who is threatened, or what political party they belong to.”

He commended federal, state, and local law enforcement for their quick response and urged that those responsible be held fully accountable.

“As political leaders, we have a responsibility to lower the temperature, reject those who advocate violence, and make clear that no political cause, no political party, and no election justifies threatening another human being,” Proto said.

Election offices have been targeted with similar mailings before.

On Jan. 9, an envelope containing powder arrived at the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s elections division. The office was cleared, and one person was taken to a hospital as a precaution, The Boston Globe and The Associated Press reported. Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore called it “an attempt to frighten.”

In September 2024, election offices in 13 states — Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wyoming — confirmed receiving suspicious packages, according to Axios.

In November 2023, suspicious letters were sent to election offices in Washington state, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Georgia, including Fulton County, and some were intercepted before they arrived, The Associated Press reported. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service told election officials that four of the letters contained fentanyl.