Adam Smith’s Kent office evacuated after letter containing powder arrives
The Washington congressman said staff were safely evacuated on October 19. Federal investigators are examining suspicious mailings nationwide, but a link to this letter is unclear.
Rep. Adam Smith’s district office in Kent, Washington, received a letter containing a powdery substance on Monday, October 19, and staff were safely evacuated, the congressman said in a statement reported by ABC News. The incident comes as federal investigators examine suspicious letters sent to government offices across the United States, though it is unclear whether Smith’s letter is connected to them.
Smith thanked the Kent Police Department and Renton Fire Department for their response. Puget Sound Fire Division Chief Pat Pawlak told ABC News that hazardous materials units from Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority and Renton Regional Fire Authority, along with a battalion chief, were dispatched to the office at 2:45 p.m. local time. Authorities had not identified the substance in Smith’s letter in the reported account.
Federal investigation into suspicious mailings
The FBI told ABC News that it and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating suspicious mailings to addresses nationwide, including state secretaries of state offices and related election offices. Some letters contained an unknown substance. ABC News cited preliminary information from law enforcement sources suggesting that more than 100 letters apparently containing white powder were circulating in the U.S. mail system; that estimate does not establish a connection to the Kent letter.
The Kent incident follows earlier reports of letters sent to election officials and members of Congress. CBS News reported that several Democratic senators’ and House members’ offices had been sent letters, many intercepted before delivery, and that at least three Senate Republicans had also been sent letters. The FBI and Postal Inspection Service were already investigating those mailings.
One letter sent to Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts’s Omaha office contained a powdery substance that law enforcement found was not harmful, according to CBS News. That finding concerns a separate letter and does not identify the substance received at Smith’s office.
Election offices report letters across the country
WIRED reported that election offices in at least 32 states had received similar letters, based on its outreach to state officials. Officials in 10 states and the District of Columbia told WIRED they had received no suspicious packages, while eight other state election offices did not respond. The powder in letters opened and tested so far had been reported as nonharmful, WIRED said.
Earlier NewsJaws coverage described the FBI’s investigation into letters sent to election officials. Smith’s account adds a specific October 19 incident at a congressional district office to the reported responses. The FBI has not established in the reported statements whether the Kent letter belongs to the same series.
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Sources and context
- Rep. Adam Smith joins list of lawmakers who received letter with 'suspicious substance'ABC News
- Feds investigating suspicious letters sent to election officials and congressional officesCBS News
- Election Offices in at Least 32 States Have Received Suspicious LettersWIRED
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.