Illinois man used own name on envelopes filled with salt sent to Congress
Matthew Unglesbee, 36, of Quincy, Illinois, allegedly mailed letters containing salt to four members of Congress, writing his own name and address on each envelope.
Illinois man arrested after mailing salt-filled letters to Congress members — with his own return address
Matthew Unglesbee, 36, of Quincy, Illinois, has been arrested on federal charges after allegedly mailing letters containing a white granular substance to four members of Congress — and writing his own name and home address on each envelope, according to theguardian.com.
Unglesbee faces charges of perpetrating a hoax and sending threatening communications through the mail. He remained in the custody of US Marshals on Tuesday following his arrest.
An eight-page criminal complaint, unsealed on Monday, outlines the case against him. FBI taskforce agent Charis Hobbs, of the Bureau's Springfield office, stated that Unglesbee admitted during an interview on Sunday that he had sent the letters to four unidentified politicians.
Unglesbee told investigators the substance he placed inside the envelopes was salt — chosen because it "kind of looks like" anthrax. Preliminary testing found no biological or chemical toxin present.
"Each letter contained a white granular substance and a handwritten letter which read 'ha ha'," the court filing stated. A letter addressed to an unnamed US senator contained granules and the message: "Hah enjoy the gift."
Staff at all four Congress members' offices in northern Illinois had alerted one another to watch for mailings bearing Unglesbee's name. None of the staffers who handled the letters opened the envelopes, the complaint said.
Following calls from congressional staff, FBI personnel "trained in handling weapons of mass destruction, and threats of biochemical toxins" were dispatched to three of the politicians' offices on Wednesday. Hazardous materials response teams attended two of those locations.
After recovering the envelopes bearing Unglesbee's address, FBI agents visited his home. There they found an additional envelope — empty, addressed but unsent — directed to one of the same Congress members' Washington DC office.
Unglesbee told investigators he mailed the four letters "after hearing someone in a restaurant mention the news story of other letters being sent." Earlier in October, the FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service had announced they were investigating multiple reports of suspicious letters sent to state officials and election offices across the country.
Unglesbee denied involvement in those other mailings. He did, however, allegedly tell investigators that he expected the recipients to "take it serious," as the powder could be perceived as anthrax — a substance he acknowledged was dangerous and would require hazmat teams to respond.
"Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognised the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat," the complaint stated.
Ryan Presley, special agent in charge of the FBI's Springfield field office, announced the arrest in a Department of Justice press release on Monday. "Mailing unknown substances to congressional offices creates fear and disrupts the public institutions vital to our democracy," Presley said. "We, along with our partners, will remain vigilant in identifying and holding accountable those whose actions threaten to intimidate public officials or disrupt our democratic systems."
Unglesbee was tentatively scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Springfield.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)