'Threatening' letters containing powder sent to Donald Trump, Clarence Thomas intercepted by USPS

A number of letters containing white powder have been mailed to conservative politicians across the country in recent days, with Kansas Republicans alone receiving around 100 since Friday. Among those targeted by the sender, who identified themselves only as "your secret despirer," were former president Donald Trump and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

While many of the letters made it to their intended destinations, those addressed to Trump and Thomas were intercepted by the United States Postal Service. Authorities have since deemed the white powder included in the envelopes to be harmless. That being said, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Secret Service are still monitoring the situation.



According to ABC7, many Kansas lawmakers were shaken by the experience, with Republican state Rep. Steve Owens describing it as "terrifying."

"This is not okay," Rep. Tory Marie Blew wrote in a Facebook post, explaining that she had received a call from the local sheriff on Friday evening warning her to be "careful" with her mail, alerting her that "there could be a white substance in it."

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, the local fire department, and a bomb squad all showed up at Blew's house to make sure she and her family were safe. 

"Preliminary tests have returned from this lab indicating the substance is presumptively negative for common biological agents of concern," the KBI announced soon after.

As KMBC9 reports, the letter was cryptic, using mismatched fonts and different languages.

"Salutations," it began. "To honor your recent accomplishments, I send to you a gift from the exclusive astruc baruch collection. It is important not to choke on your ambitions."

Republican state Sen. Molly Baumgardner indicated she believed the message was "intended to be threatening," noting that only Republicans had been targeted.
 

"Everybody has to be concerned," she said. "Everyone has to take this and any subsequent threats like this very seriously."