The FBI has released a statement on the spate of suspicious packages that were addressed to current and former government officials, including Hilary Clinton and former president Barack Obamas.
Between October 22 and 24, 2018, suspicious packages were received at multiple locations in the New York and Washington, D.C., areas and Florida. The packages are being sent for analysis at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
“This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation.”
The packages are similar in appearance, as depicted in the below photograph, and contain potentially destructive devices.
The packages were mailed in manila envelopes with bubble wrap interior. The packages were affixed with computer-printed address labels and six Forever stamps.
All packages had a return address of “DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ” [sic] in Florida.
- George Soros
- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
- Former President Barack Obama
- Former CIA Director John Brennan, care of CNN
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder
The FBI will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners at the United States Secret Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as our state and local law enforcement partners, to identify and arrest the person or people responsible for sending these packages.
It is possible that additional packages were mailed to other locations. The FBI advises the public to remain vigilant and not touch, move or handle any suspicious or unknown packages.
Officials have also clarified that Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose name was spelt wrong on the return labels, is not suspected in the case.
Trump ‘Extremely Upset’
President Trump has since condemned the “abhorrent” attacks, saying that he and his administration were “extremely upset.”“This egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as Americans.”
Trump told a crowd that the White House on Oct. 24 that he had been briefed by the FBI, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Secret Service, promising the American people that “the full weight of our government” was being deployed to investigate the crimes.
‘We Have to Unify’
Trump also called for national unity in the face of the acts of political violence. “In these times, we have to unify. We have to come together,” he said.