Suspicious letters with substances sent to US senators and election offices

Federal authorities, including the FBI and US Postal Inspection Service, are investigating letters containing suspicious substances sent to congressional and state election offices across the United States, BBC World reported.

The letters were sent to at least five Democratic senators' offices, including those of California's Alex Padilla, Connecticut's Chris Murphy, and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand. Some letters were intercepted before delivery, according to the senators' offices.

Other senators targeted include New York's Chuck Schumer and Delaware's Lisa Blunt Rochester, as reported by CBS News, a US partner of the BBC. Several state election offices, such as Delaware's Department of Elections, also received suspicious mailings.

The mailings have raised concerns as they come weeks before the US midterm elections, echoing previous security scares involving suspicious mail. Authorities are working to trace the mailings and have not disclosed the total number of offices targeted.

Senator Padilla highlighted that the incident underscores the dangers faced by public servants and election administrators amid increasingly hostile political rhetoric, as noted by the BBC.

Officials continue to investigate the source and nature of the suspicious substances and the potential threat posed by the letters.