WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The United States Postal Inspection Service caught a suspicious envelope in West Hartford Tuesday after reports of similar envelopes sent to election offices across the U.S., the Office of the Secretary of the State, or SOTS, said.
The FBI notified SOTS after the USPIS intercepted the envelope at the West Hartford USPS facility, which matched the description of other envelopes that contained an "unidentified white powder," according to SOTS.
Officials sent the envelope to a state lab for processing.
"I want to thank USPIS, the FBI, CISA and CTIC for their quick action and work to protect the people of Connecticut," Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said. “For almost two years, we have been working as a team preparing for events such as this and we are now seeing why that work has been so important.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency first alerted SOTS Monday afternoon about the envelopes sent to various election offices across the country. In response, SOTS notified the Connecticut Intelligence Center, which they said shares threat-related information between various "state, local, tribal and territorial, federal and private sector" agencies.
"I think the obvious danger or threat with incidents like this is that they are becoming normalized," Scott McLean, Quinnipiac University Professor of Political Science, told FOX61. "We're seeing this increasingly hostile environment, especially against those who administer our elections."
The FBI and USPIS are leading the investigation. Anyone who spots suspicious activity is asked to report it by calling 866-HLS-TIPS (866-457-8477) or email CTIC@ct.gov. Suspicious activity around mailboxes or mail can be reported by calling 877-876-2455.
Sean Humphrey is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at shumphrey@fox61.com.
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