Police investigate ‘concerning’ letter sent to January 6 committee chairman

Final committee hearing due to begin on Thursday ahead of midterms

US Capitol Police are investigating the source of a letter with “concerning” language that was sent to the building where January 6 committee chairman and congressman Bennie Thompson has an office.

On Tuesday, Capitol Police said the letter was sent to the Rayburn House Office Building, where the chairman of the January 6 committee has an office, and that staffers reported receiving “a letter with concerning language”.

While the letter did not have anything dangerous inside of it, police said they were investigating where the letter with “concerning” language came from, and why it was sent to the building on Capitol Hill.

“Our investigators take all concerning statements and threats seriously,” Capitol Police said in a statement shared to Twitter. “They are now working to determine who sent the letter and why.”

Capitol staff and personnel reportedly received more than one email from Capitol Police warning them to “avoid” the area around the Rayburn House Office Building while it responded on Tuesday, Axios reported.

Those in offices in the immediate vicinity of the building were also advised to to “shelter in place at this time” while police worked to determine whether or not there was a threat from the letter, the report said.

An all-clear email was sent about an hour later.

Concerns over security and safety among Capitol staffers and members of Congress have not completely disappeared since January 6, when the US Capitol came under attack from a mob supportive of former US president Donald Trump.

Recent incidents around Congress include members of the Secret Service also responding to reports of a “powdery substance believed to be suspected narcotics” near the White House on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the agency said in a tweet.

One person was taken into custody and two agents who responded to the scene were taken to hospital for exposure to horse tranquilisers, NBC News reported.

The incidents come ahead of a new January 6 committee hearing scheduled for Thursday which will be the first hearing held since the summer and the last before the midterm elections on 8 November.

An aide to the committee told reporters on Wednesday that the hearing would “revisit a lot of the themes that we discussed in June and July”, but with new additional information about the attack on the US Capitol.

A spokesperson for Mr Thompson said in a statement to The Independent on Thursday: “The suspicious package is under investigation. We are all safe, including the Chairman. We are monitoring the issue, and will follow up with the media when we receive additional information. At this time, we cannot disclose any other information. Thank you for your understanding.”