Police intercept suspicious package addressed to Maxine Waters

A suspicious package addressed to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) was intercepted at a congressional mail facility on Wednesday, a Democratic aide told The Hill.

Capitol Police intercepted the package at a facility in Maryland, according to ABC News, which first reported on the development and subsequent investigation.

Police bomb technicians were deployed to the congressional mail facility, ABC News reported.

NEWS: Suspicious package intercepted by Capitol Hill police was addressed to Democratic California congresswoman Maxine Waters, according to three sources.

— Tara Palmeri (@tarapalmeri) October 24, 2018 

NEWS: Law enforcement sources tell @ABCNews that at least one suspected device has been intercepted at a Congressional mail sorting facility in Maryland. Capitol Hill Police bomb techs are on the scene. w/ @JackDate @MLevineReports

— Tara Palmeri (@tarapalmeri) October 24, 2018

Capitol Police did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Hill.

Waters issued a statement following the incident in which she praised law enforcement for intercepting the package and condemned “any and all acts of violence and terror.”

“I have been informed by U.S. Capitol Police that my Washington, DC office was the target of a suspicious package that has been referred to the FBI,” Waters wrote in the statement. “I am appreciative of the law enforcement entities who intercepted the package and are investigating this matter. I unequivocally condemn any and all acts of violence and terror.”

{mosads}The incident follows the discovery of suspicious packages intended for Bill and Hillary Clinton in New York as well as another to former President Obama in Washington, D.C.

The Secret Service said in a statement Wednesday that it had found “potential explosive devices” in mail directed to both Clinton and Obama’s residences.

The agency said Obama and Clinton “did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”

Police also responded to a suspicious package mailed to CNN’s offices in New York. The package was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who is a contributor to MSNBC.

The Time Warner building in New York City, which houses CNN, was evacuated after the package was discovered.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-Fla.) office in Florida also received a suspicious package. The package was addressed to former Attorney General Eric Holder, but had her office listed as the return address.

The White House on Wednesday condemned the attempted bombings and pledged “all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”

“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Waters has been the subject of various GOP rhetorical attacks recently, particularly from President Trump, who took to Twitter to criticize her in June. 

“Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party. She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!” he tweeted.

Waters has also received a series of death threats over the past few months, which she responded to in June by saying “if you shoot me you better shoot straight, there’s nothing like a wounded animal.”

— Scott Wong and Mike Lillis contributed reporting. Updated 3:34 p.m.