Suspicious letters sent to Arizona representatives ahead of midterms spark federal investigation
MESA, Ariz. - Arizona politicians are speaking out after a suspicious letter addressed to a U.S. Representative was intercepted at the Mesa office.
What we know:
The letter was addressed to U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton's (AZ-04) office in Mesa, which was intercepted before it was delivered. Letters sent to U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) and U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) had been sent to their former offices.
What they're saying:
In a joint statement from Stanton, Ansari, and Grijalva, they said:
"This weekend, the FBI Phoenix Field Office and the Arizona Department of Homeland Security informed us that suspicious letters had been sent to our offices. Similar letters, many containing unknown substances, have been mailed to elected officials across the country.
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating. We’re grateful to law enforcement for acting quickly and keeping our staff and communities safe.
We will not be intimidated, and we’ll keep doing the work that Arizonans elected us to do."
The backstory:
Last week, federal law enforcement officials said they were investigating more suspicious letters sent to election offices across the nation, as the General Election on Nov. 3 nears.
According to the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the series of letters were also sent to offices on Capitol Hill, with a return address for the Democratic Socialists of America headquarters in New York City. Officials described these as "potentially hazardous," although the details on the exact chemical contents were not released.
What we don't know:
Officials did not release further details about the letter, including what it contained and who it may have come from.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton; U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari; U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva; federal law enforcement officials; the FBI Phoenix Field Office; the Arizona Department of Homeland Security; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and previous FOX reports.