FBI investigates white powder sent to Rand Paul’s home as he hits out at Richard Marx for inciting violence against him

Republican senator accuses pop singer Richard Marx of calling for violence against him

FBI and Capitol Hill police have launched an investigation into a suspicious white powder that was delivered to Rand Paul’s home with a threatening message as the senator accused pop singer Richard Marx of calling for violence against him.

A large envelope containing white power with a doctored image of the Republican senator arrived at his home on Monday, senior adviser to the senator Sergio Gor said.

The picture showed the senator heavily bandaged, walking with a crutch as a gun appeared to aim his head. The message on the package said: “I’ll finish what your neighbour started you motherf*****.”

The package is being examined by the police for harmful substances.

The Kentucky senator reacted to the incident by saying he “takes these threats immensely seriously."

“As a repeated target of violence, it is reprehensible that Twitter allows C-list celebrities to encourage violence against me and my family. Just this weekend Richard Marx called for violence against me and now we receive this powder filled letter.”

In 2017, Mr Paul was assaulted by one of his neighbours, Rene Boucher, and suffered six broken ribs while he was working in his yard. The neighbour pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight months in prison.

The senator chided Marx, a singer and songwriter popular from 1980s, referring to his latest tweet on Sunday where he said he would treat Mr Paul’s neighbour with drinks. But later, the singer said he was joking and it was not “incitement to violence.”

“I’ll say it again: If I ever meet Rand Paul’s neighbour I’m going to hug him and buy him as many drinks as he can consume,” he had tweeted.

Mr Paul is facing heat on social media after he said he has no plans to get vaccinated as he was already infected with the virus in March 2020.

"Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalised or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that I’m not getting vaccinated because I’ve already had the disease and I have natural immunity,” he had said during an interview on WABC-AM radio.

The senator has earlier sparred with the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, during the pandemic and suggested critical views against Covid-19 restrictions and mask mandates.

He said Americans should be able to choose to get vaccinated or not without fear of repercussions from the government.