California Congressman’s Office Receives Suspicious White Powder

A California congressman’s office became the latest target in a nationwide wave of suspicious mailings after a staffer opened an envelope containing white powder.

Democratic Rep. Jimmy Panetta confirmed the incident in a statement posted on social media Friday, saying the envelope was delivered to his Santa Cruz district office during the usual morning routine of a staffer responding to constituents.

“Upon realizing there was powder in the envelope, she immediately put the envelope in the trash, got her co-workers out of the office, and called 911,” he wrote.

Panetta said her priority was the safety of her staff, adding that the employee and her co-workers were initially cleared by medical officials.

“These attempts to intimidate us will not deter us from doing our jobs,” he wrote.

“Despite these difficult circumstances, we remain committed to our democracy by continuing our service to the people of California’s 19th Congressional District. »

The envelope was sent from New York and resembled other letters under investigation by federal authorities, according to Panetta’s office.

The office said the envelope was torn and quickly discarded, meaning the exact return address could not be confirmed.

The incident comes as the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Capitol Police are investigating a nationwide surge of suspicious letters sent to congressional and elections offices.

A notice distributed to Senate offices warned that authorities were working to intercept additional letters, but that some might still reach their destination.

The warning included a photo of one of the suspicious envelopes, postmarked “DSA” with a New York return address that the Democratic Socialists of America previously listed on its membership forms.

The organization said it no longer occupied the address it stopped using in 2013.

Other California lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, also reported receiving suspicious mail, while Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla said a suspicious package addressed to his office was intercepted by the U.S. Postal Service before it arrived.

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Across the country, other members of Congress reporting suspicious mail included Reps. Seth Moulton, Maxwell Frost, Darren Soto, Ritchie Torres and Bonnie Watson Coleman, as well as Senators Mike Rounds, Chris Murphy, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Chris Coons, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar.

Separately, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of potentially hazardous materials at the Santa Cruz County Government Building at 701 Ocean Street. The building was evacuated as a precaution, no injuries were reported.