Politics | 12/10/2008 9:50 am
Palin's Alaska Office Receives Hoax Letter With White Powder

Sarah Palin’s territory is the latest to receive a letter containing a suspicious white powder.
The letter addressed to the governor’s office in Juneau prompted a mail-room evacuation Tuesday afternoon. Nobody reported feeling ill, although three of the workers who came in close contact with the package were decontaminated, reports The Anchorage Daily News.
The letter was not addressed to Palin, however. It was addressed to former Gov. Frank Murkowski – who hasn’t been there in two years. Perhaps the culprit isn’t up to date on his Alaska politics.
The Alaska letter is the latest in a string of ones sent to seven other governors in Rhode Island, Michigan, Mississippi, Alabama, Minnesota, Montana and Missouri, according to the FBI. All bore a Texas postmark. Alabama’s Department of Public Safety said Tuesday its letter contained a harmless food substance. In Missouri, the powder turned out to be bleached flour. The capitol in Helena, MT, was evacuated for several hours after a letter was sent there.
"Just because it went to the governor’s office and the timing, we’re treating it as being part of the same series of letters that went out," said Alaska FBI bureau spokesman Eric Gonzalez. "All of them to date have tested as nonlethal."
Even though there’s nothing harmful in the letters so far, authorities say the hoax is still a crime. The FBI warned state workers to keep an eye out for similar letters or packages, and encourages anyone with information about the letters to contact their local FBI office, or call the Dallas FBI at 972-559-5000.























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