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ORLANDO, Fla. —
Congressman Maxwell Frost’s Orlando office has been evacuated after receiving a suspicious package on Friday.
“Today, my office received a suspicious package matching those reported by other offices across the country. As a precaution, our office has been evacuated. U.S. Capitol Police and the Orlando Police Department have been notified, and the appropriate authorities are responding,” Frost said in a press release.
Frost said he and his staff are safe.
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In Kissimmee, Florida Congressman Darren Soto, D-District 9, said Friday that law enforcement had intercepted “an envelope with a suspicious substance” that his office had just received.
“Congressman Frost’s office gave us advance notice to monitor our mail. The envelope was intercepted by local law enforcement,” Soto said on social media. “We are working with federal, state, and local law enforcement to support an investigation. Political violence has no place in our democracy, and we hope those who perpetrated this crime are brought to justice.”
According to NBC News, federal law enforcement is investigating dozens of letters containing suspicious substances mailed to congressional offices and state election officials across the country in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
The offices of several Democratic senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, were targeted. Election offices in at least 15 states — Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin — said they were mailed suspicious packages, NBC News has reported.
An office for Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was also targeted, a spokesperson for Padilla told NBC News, adding that the FBI notified the office that a letter containing a suspicious substance was intercepted by the U.S. Postal Service.
A letter with a suspicious substance was also sent to Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy’s office in Hartford, Connecticut, his spokesperson, Josh Sorbe, said in a statement.
This is a developing situation and will be updated as information is released.