Election officials in at least 16 states, including Oklahoma, sent package with “suspicious substance”

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are trying to find who sent packages containing a suspicious white powder to offices of the Oklahoma Election Board and election officials in at least 15 other states this week.

Oklahoma was among six states where election officials received a suspicious package in the mail on Monday.

Since then, the FBI says election officials in at least 10 additional states have been sent or received similar packages.

A spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Election Board told News 4 the Board received a “suspicious envelope” in the mail at their office located inside the Oklahoma State Capitol Monday morning.

Inside the envelope, the spokesperson said they found a “multi-page document” and a “white powder substance.”

Election board officials immediately called the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP).

OHP Troopers secured the Capitol while a hazmat team ran tests on the envelope to identify the “white powder substance” inside.  

The election board’s spokesperson told News 4 the hazmat team determined the substance to be “Wheat Cereal (Flour).”

They turned the envelope over to the OHP as evidence.

At the same time Monday morning, election officials in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee and Wyoming also found similar packages in their mail.

The Associated Press reported election officials in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York and Rhode Island had also intercepted or received similar packages on Tuesday.

In a statement to News 4 Tuesday, the FBI confirmed they are now investigating alongside U.S. Postal inspectors.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to election officials in several states. Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident and safely collect the letters. We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters. As this is an ongoing matter we will not be commenting further on the investigation, but the public can be assured safety is our top priority. We would also like to remind everyone to exercise care in handling mail, especially from unrecognized senders. If you see something suspicious, please contact law enforcement immediately.

FBI Spokesperson

Experts say, since the Anthrax scare of 2001, it’s been common for bad political actors to send public officials suspicious-looking white powder substances as a way to threaten or intimidate them.

“You know, I remember taking a terrorism course in in graduate school, and that's what this is,” Brett Sharpe, who has worked as a Political Science professor at the University of Central Oklahoma for more than 30 years. “It's trying to send a political message and scare people. Which—that's what terrorism is.”

Sharpe says, historically, election officials haven’t often found themselves on the receiving end of political violence and threats. But that changed after 2020, when threats and attacks against election officials skyrocketed nationwide.

“And we've seen election board people who, you know, normally they stick around for years, but there's been a wholesale turnover and people who are volunteer to be poll workers,” Sharpe said.

Which is frustrating, he says, especially for Oklahoma—where our state’s election system has long been regarded as one of the most secure and well-respected systems in the country.

“It really should be emulated,” he said. ”I know people on the election board and various poll volunteers, and they're quality people.”