Suspicious White Powder Letters Target NYC-Area Lawmakers in Nationwide Mail Scare

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district office at 1231 Lafayette Avenue in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx received an envelope containing white powder on October 20, prompting a hazmat response. The substance was determined to be non-hazardous, and no injuries were reported. The incident followed a similar mailing days earlier to the Bronx district office of fellow Representative Ritchie Torres, where six people were exposed to a substance also found to be harmless. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are jointly investigating a nationwide series of suspicious mailings to elected officials and other addresses, though they have declined to confirm individual incidents publicly. Ocasio-Cortez said the string of mailings appeared to be 'intended to intimidate public servants' and noted they began two weeks before a consequential midterm election on November 3. Torres also condemned the attack on his office. Hazmat teams responded to both Bronx locations and cleared them. The amNY article tying together the AOC and Torres incidents and the ongoing FBI investigation was published on October 22.