CNN
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On Saturday, an envelope containing a “suspicious white powder” was found at the campaign headquarters of the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona.
An employee at Kari Lake’s Phoenix campaign office opened an envelope containing white energy, a campaign spokeswoman told CNN.
A source familiar with the investigation told CNN the items are being tested at a lab in Arizona during the investigation. No evidence has been sent to the FBI lab at Quantico, the source said.
On Sunday, Lake’s campaign spokesman Colton Duncan told CNN via text message that two envelopes were seized by law enforcement and “sent to Quantico specialists for examination.”
Lake told reporters Sunday evening that his campaign initially said the suspicious mail would be sent to Quantico for testing, “but apparently there’s a lab closer and they actually sent the substance, so we’re figuring out what it is.” was.”
Phoenix police told CNN in an email that they responded to a “property call” at 40th Street and Camelback Road.
“When the officers arrived, they realized that there were suspicious items inside the mail. Additional resources responded to collect and secure the area,” Sgt. Phil Krinsky told CNN. “No injuries have been reported and the investigation is active.”
CNN has reached out to the FBI’s Phoenix office for more information.
Earlier on Sunday, Lake’s team said it was taking the threat “extremely seriously” and thanked authorities for looking into the incident. Duncan said the employee is being monitored by doctors.
“In the meantime, know that our resolve has never been higher and we cannot be intimidated. We’re going to continue our momentum to win this election on Tuesday,” Duncan said.
Arizona has been a hotbed of extremist anger and threats against political and electoral officials. These threats were directed at both Democratic and Republican leaders.
“We are in dangerous times. It’s not the first time we’ve been…threatened, I’ve been threatened many times,” Lake told reporters at a campaign event in Queen Creek.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of this, I really don’t want to get too far ahead of it, I want the investigators to look at it and I really want to find the people who sent this because it’s wrong.”
Lake’s Democratic challenger, current Arizona Secretary of State Kathy Hobbs, condemned the behavior of her rival and her staff, saying the incident was “extremely troubling.”
“Political violence, intimidation and intimidation have no place in our democracy,” Hobbs said in a statement. “I strongly condemn this threatening behavior directed at Lake and her staff.”
Hobbs’ campaign office was broken into late last month. A suspect was arrested in the case, but police said the man had recently broken into at least one other office. The police did not associate the suspect with any political motive.
Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly called the incident “horrific” on Sunday.
“There is no place in our democracy for this kind of thing,” Kelly told CNN at a campaign rally in Tucson. “But we don’t need someone to do that. It’s just wrong. And I hope there’s an investigation and they find who did it and they’re arrested and prosecuted.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
