Iowa election officials among those targeted with ‘suspicious’ parcels

Election officials in Iowa and at least four other states were the target Monday of what appears to be a coordinated series of threats or acts of intimidation involving suspicious parcels.

State officials evacuated the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines on Monday after a suspicious parcel was discovered at the Secretary of State’s Office.

The incident was similar to situations that occurred Monday in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming and possibly other states. In each instance, the suspicious parcels appear to have been directed to the secretaries of state – typically, the offices that oversee elections at the state level.

At about 11 a.m. Monday, the Iowa State Patrol was summoned to the Lucas State Office Building in the 300 block of East 12th Street near the Capitol Building complex. The call referenced a suspicious parcel in the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

According to state officials, the building was evacuated and the Des Moines Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team was contacted. The team tested the parcel and determined it did not pose a threat to the public.

Subsequently, all offices in the building were reopened and normal business operations resumed. The matter remains under investigation.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issued a written statement that indicated a suspicious package had been “received” in his office, but he didn’t say whether it arrived through the mail or was delivered some other way.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Monday, the Herschler Building East was evacuated after a letter containing a white powder was found in the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office reported a suspicious envelope at its Elections Division headquarters on Monday. A substance inside the envelope was tested and determined to be nonhazardous.

In Topeka, Kansas, election officials said they were on alert Monday after learning that Nebraska’s election office had received a suspicious package that carried a return address that referenced “traitors.” A short time later, the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office received a suspicious package that triggered an evacuation of that office.

In Oklahoma, the State Election Board received a suspicious envelope in the mail that contained a multipage document and a white powder substance later identified as “wheat cereal” or flour, the board reported. The highway patrol responded and secured the envelope and the office until the hazardous materials team arrived.

Statement for our State Election Board: On Monday morning, the State Election Board received a suspicious envelope in the mail containing a multi-page document and a white, powder substance. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) responded – securing both the envelope and the State Election Board office until the Haz-mat Team could arrive. Testing by the Haz-mat Team identified the substance as “wheat cereal” (flour).

In November 2023, suspicious letters — including some containing fentanyl — were sent to elections offices in at least five states, delaying the counting of ballots in some races. The letters were mailed to elections offices in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington.

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