Kari Lake’s campaign received envelope with ‘suspicious’ white powder
A campaign office for Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake received a suspicious package containing white powder on Saturday, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Officers responded to an address where Lake’s campaign office is located and found suspicious items inside the mail, police told The Hill.
The items were collected and the area was secured, police added. No one was injured and the investigation remains active.
The Hill has reached out to Lake’s campaign for comment.
A spokesperson for Lake told The Washington Post that a staffer, who was trained as a nurse, opened the envelope with the white powder and then quickly set it down. The staffer did not open a second, similar envelope.
The FBI, Phoenix Fire Department and a hazmat squad responded and sent the sample for testing, according to the Post. Lake is on the campaign trail and was not exposed, and the staffer who opened the package has not experienced any symptoms.
The news follows an incident last month in which Lake’s opponent in the race, Democrat Katie Hobbs, reported to police that someone broke into her office and stole some items.
Police arrested a suspect in that case, which has not been determined to be politically motivated.
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Hobbs condemned the suspicious packages that arrived at Lake’s office in a statement to the Post.
“Political violence, threats, or intimidation have no place in our democracy,” Hobbs said.
The midterm elections are on Tuesday, and the race between Hobbs and Lake is one of the most closely watched gubernatorial contests in the country.
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