Several Tennessee house Republicans received letters with an “unknown white powder” on Thursday, leading to an FBI investigation and a partial lockdown of a legislative office building in Nashville.
GOP press secretary Jennifer Easton said the letters contained threats made by a “liberal activist” and specifically targeted Republican lawmakers.
The sixth floor of the Cordell Hull Building — a state house office building that connects to the Tennessee Capitol’s main building in downtown Nashville — was put on lockdown on Thursday as the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Nashville District, and the Nashville Fire Department investigated the suspicious mail.
Our personnel responded to a suspicious letter call at the Cordell Hull Building. They donned protective suits and air tanks to test the substance. @THPNashville @FBI @DHSgov have personnel on the scene investigating. We have made no transports and have no reports of injuries. pic.twitter.com/D2WCEDcTig
— Nashville Fire Dept (@NashvilleFD) June 22, 2023
The fire department said crews wore protective suits and air tanks to test the substance and that no injuries had been reported.
“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. Laboratory testing is ongoing but at this time has not indicated a risk to public safety. Additional testing will be needed to fully identify the unknown substance in the letters,” the FBI said in a statement.
The bureau said law-enforcement agencies are investigating how many letters were sent and are working to identify who sent the letters and what the motive was.
The incident comes months after the Tennessee house made national news by voting to expel state representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, two of the three Democratic lawmakers who staged demonstrations on the House floor earlier this year to call for gun control.
The expulsions caused widespread outrage among Democrats, though the pair were quickly reinstated in a temporary capacity by their respective districts.
Earlier this month, more than 100 elected officials in Kansas found suspicious letters with white powder in their mail. In that case, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the powder did not appear to be harmful, according to GOP leaders.
Kansas state representative Tory Marie Blew said while she didn’t open the envelope she received, other lawmakers opened their mailing to find threatening letters that said, “Don’t choke on your ambition.”
She said the return address on her envelope was for a church in her hometown, and the name was that of a transgender person who had died.
Blew suggested the person behind the letters could be targeting lawmakers who supported bills to prevent biological men from playing in women’s sports and to define “male” and “female” only by biological sex.