Envelopes With Fentanyl Sent To Georgia, Washington Election Offices
Officials in Georgia and Washington state have announced that envelopes containing the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl were sent to election offices in their states in the previous week when elections were happening across the country.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger made the announcement on Thursday, revealing that officials were in the process of trying to intercept an envelope that had tested positive for fentanyl and was making its way through the mail system in Fulton County.
While speaking at the press conference, Raffensperger explained that local officials who could come in contact with the envelope they are searching for have been trained in the use of Narcan — a nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses — noting that he has placed the other 158 counties in Georgia on alert.
“Some people like to call fentanyl a drug, but it’s actually poison. It will kill you. It will kill you very quickly — very easily,” Raffensperger said, pointing out that his son had died from a fentanyl overdose several years ago.
The Georgia secretary of state also declared the incident to be “domestic terrorism,” noting that it “needs to be condemned by anyone who holds elected office and anyone that wants to hold elected office anywhere in America.”
This news follows evacuations in several locations across Washington state after four different envelopes were found to have contained suspicious powder. At least one of these incidents happened in King County, while another case occurred in Spokane County, where authorities have since confirmed through testing that the powder contained fentanyl.
Washington officials have stated that the envelopes disrupted poll workers who were counting ballots on Tuesday. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) addressed the matter in a statement.
“The safety of staff and observers is paramount as elections workers across the state open envelopes and count each voter’s ballot,” the statement read. “These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all election workers. Democracy rests upon free and fair elections. These incidents are acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.”
According to Hobbs’ office, King County election officials also received an envelope containing trace amounts of fentanyl during the state’s August 1 primary.
The latest series of envelopes are currently being investigated as acts of terrorism by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, as well as state and local officials.
