Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson poses for a photo in the Gold Room at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
The FBI found what it called a “suspicious letter” containing white powder addressed to Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office on Friday, adding Utah to a list of at least 20 states where elections officials have been targeted.
That’s according to Henderson’s office, which in a news release said the envelope was intercepted in Reno, Nevada, and signed by the “United States Traitor Elimination Army.” It was not immediately clear what the white powder was, and law enforcement are investigating the threat and testing the substance, according to the news release.
“This incident is the latest tactic in a nationwide trend of threats and intimidation toward election officials. But we will not be intimidated,” Henderson said in a statement. “I am grateful for the swift action of postal workers and law enforcement and the perseverance of election workers who show up and do their jobs every day despite all the rhetoric and risk. We love them. We owe them. They are heroes.”
Friday’s incident is the latest in a string of suspicious envelopes that were either received by election officials or intercepted by law enforcement. Utah now joins Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming, where the FBI is currently investigating suspicious activity, according to CNN.
In Nebraska, the Secretary of State’s Office found an envelope on Monday at its elections division headquarters that contained a white powder, which police determined to be nonhazardous; that same day, a building in Topeka, Kansas was evacuated after authorities found “suspicious” packages sent to both the Secretary of State’s Office and Attorney General’s Office; In Colorado, police intercepted a similar letter on Tuesday that contained a “harmless” white powder addressed to the Secretary of State.
Henderson’s office had already been on alert, with the lieutenant governor taking to X to post a statement from the National Association of Secretaries of State early this week condemning the incidents.
“Election officials will not be threatened, intimidated, or harassed out of faithfully doing their jobs,” Henderson said.
On Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he was “deeply disturbed and concerned about our country,” when asked by reporters about the prospect of increasing political violence.
“We’ve seen it here in our state, sadly, threats of violence towards myself, my family, towards members of the legislature, judges,” Cox said. “I don’t think we should be surprised to see this happening. But that doesn’t mean we should accept it.”
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