AOC Receives Suspicious White Powder Envelope at Bronx Office

Police responded to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district office at 1231 Lafayette Avenue in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx at 1:26 p.m. Monday after staff discovered an envelope containing suspicious white powder. Officers from the 41st Precinct secured the mail, and the substance was subsequently determined to be non-hazardous. No injuries or symptoms were reported. The FBI and U.S. Capitol Police joined the NYPD in investigating the incident. The mailing came four days after a similar envelope triggered a hazardous-materials response at Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres's district office, where six people were briefly exposed to a substance also later deemed harmless. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have reportedly received comparable letters, as have dozens of elected officials across the country. Ocasio-Cortez characterised the pattern as an effort to intimidate public servants two weeks before the November 3 midterm election. The FBI confirmed it is investigating a nationwide series of suspicious mailings.