The white powder sent to Congressman Raul Grijalva’s office has been determined to be toxic. Dave Neiwert talked to Adam Saravana of the Grijalva campaign, and has the story (emphasis mine):
At about 12:30, as they do every day, the staff checked the mail for the congressional district office. Among the letters was this envelope with -- it just had a mailing label, with a name and address on it, and I can't confirm if it's real or not. Inside the envelope, there were two pieces of paper with swastikas drawn on them.
And there was a little plastic baggie with this powder in there. And so they called the police. The police showed up, and then the fire department arrived. And the fire department did a test, and said, 'OK, this is actually toxic. This is for real.'
So the congressional office was on lockdown for more than an hour. They first had a police cordon around the building, they wouldn't let the staff leave -- the staff were all there while they were all tested for their vital signs and everything. And finally the fire department got its results back and they said, 'This stuff is dangerous, we need to get you out of here.' So they kept the cordon up but they evacuated the building.
Our congressional staff all went home. The congressman and I were out, and so they wouldn't let us in the building.
This is an act of domestic terrorism against the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. As polls show Grijalva in a dead heat for re-election, this act of terrorism has disrupted his campaign. He is unable to use his office or his staff.
We need to step up for Grijalva, and help him campaign when he cannot do so. Please, join with the over 400 members of the Daily Kos community who have already fought back for Raul Grijalva, and contribute $10 to his campaign now.
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Update--conflicting reports: A new report says the substance was non-toxic. Last night, reports said the opposite. The FBI currently says it will not comment further at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.
Either way, the incident was designed to use fear and intimidation disrupt Grijalva's campaign during the homestretch. It worked--this cut into his campaigning. And when Grijalva can't campaign can't campaign because of this, we have to step up and help him out.