PHOENIX — The Executive Tower at the Arizona State Capitol was evacuated Thursday afternoon after Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ office received an envelope containing white powder.
Staff opened the envelope, called law enforcement, isolated the material and people who were exposed, evacuated other employees and shut off floor access. There were no reported injuries. Gov. Katie Hobbs was not in the tower; her office thanked first responders.
Fontes said the moment underscored the risks election workers face ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms and that his team would not be scared out of serving voters. “I’m angry as hell,” he told ABC15, calling threats against clerks in government offices unconscionable.
Arizona DPS, including its Hazardous Materials Response Team, and the FBI responded. Authorities had not identified the powder or a sender. The FBI said it and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating suspicious mailings nationwide, including to secretary of state and election offices, some with an unknown substance.
Fontes said his office had been on alert after similar threats elsewhere and called on leaders across the political spectrum to condemn violence against election workers.
Sources: ABC15, Reuters via Devdiscourse. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: David Jiang / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
