Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said a white powder sent to his office on Oct. 15 was nontoxic and a failed attempt to disrupt the state's elections that are less than three weeks away.
Fontes and his security director, Michael Moore, said during an Oct. 16 news conference that a staffer received an envelope addressed to the Secretary of State's Office with the white powder a day earlier. Fontes did not know how long the envelope had been in the building, but said the Arizona state government's nearby mail sorting facility was also quarantined and inspected as a precaution.
"We believe that whoever sent it did intentionally put that powdery substance inside the envelope, thank God it was not harmful," Fontes said.
Moore, the office's chief
information security officer, said election workers have been receiving increased threats and training to prepare for them. The incident with the envelope caused no major disruption to the state and could lead to state or federal charges, he said.
"To some folks it may seem like yesterday was a special thing, to us it was a Thursday," Moore said. "We unfortunately deal with threats constantly. That's not new, that's something that we've been dealing with for the past at least six, seven years."
Fontes said he did not have information about whether the incident at his office was connected to similar incidents around the nation. Suspicious packages and envelopes containing powder have been sent to election officials in other states this month.
"Yesterday's attack was not a harmless prank, it was an apparent attempt to disrupt our elections, and intimidate the public servants who make them possible," Fontes said.
"Let me be absolutely clear, we will not be intimidated, we will not be distracted, and we will not allow threats to interfere with Arizona's elections," he said.
Fontes, a Democrat seeking reelection on Nov. 3, said his office had returned to business as usual.
The election crimes unit of the FBI and the Arizona Department of Public Safety were notified of the envelope with suspicious powder and responded within an hour, Moore said.
Fontes and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, whose office is in the same building, were not there at the time the letter was opened, their spokespeople previously said. Their offices and the building were evacuated as a result of the incident.
Fontes' and Hobbs' offices are in the Executive Tower at the Arizona Capitol complex just west of downtown Phoenix. Hobbs, also a Democrat and former secretary of state, is also on the ballot this November.
This is a developing story. Return to azcentral.com for updates.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Adrian Fontes says powder that caused Capitol evacuation was non-toxic
