Fentanyl-Laced Letters Sent to Multiple US Election Offices

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Facts

  • Letters containing suspicious substances were sent to election offices in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington state, four of which contained the deadly drug fentanyl. The incidents delayed ballot counting in some local elections, with the FBI and US Postal Inspection Service investigating the matter.1
  • In Washington state, letters were received at election offices in the counties of Skagit, Spokane, Pierce, and King, which includes Seattle, two of which contained the drug. As this prompted an evacuation of ballot counting workers on Tuesday, Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs called the deliveries 'acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.'2
  • Linda Farmer, the auditor for Pierce County, Wash., released an image of the letter her office received, which reportedly said 'end elections now' and 'Stop giving power to the right that they don’t have. We are in charge now and there is no more need for them.' It also contained an antifascist symbol, a pentagram, and a progress flag.2
  • Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who lost his son to a fentanyl overdose about five years ago, said he was aware of an envelope traveling to Fulton County, adding that it had 'been tested and it did have fentanyl in it.' While it was still in transit, he said 'We have put and prepared our people here that could receive that mail on alert and given them the resources they need with Narcan.'3
  • The Postal Service also intercepted two suspicious envelopes that were en route to election facilities in Los Angeles and Sacramento, while Lane County, Ore., which includes the University of Oregon, was investigating a piece of mail that arrived at the local election office Wednesday. The Lane County Election Office said no one who came in contact with it experienced any adverse health effects.1
  • This is just the latest in a series of threats against election officials since the 2020 US elections. According to a Brennan Center for Justice survey in April, 11% of election officials say they may leave before 2024 while 45% say they fear for the safety of their colleagues ahead of the next presidential election.2

Sources: 1NPR Online News, 2The Guardian and 3FOX News.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by NBC Bay Area. Ever since Donald Trump and his supporters tried to overturn the 2020 election results, the rate of threats against ballot counters has skyrocketed. Not only has this disrupted subsequent elections and caused workers to quit their jobs, but the cost of implementing security measures over the next ten years will cost upwards of $600M. Placing all the blame on an alleged left-wing perpetrator for this incident under investigation ignores this larger issue.
  • Right narrative, as provided by The Western Journal. This news provides concrete proof that it's not right-wingers who are trying to undermine America's election integrity. These envelopes contained the symbols of left-wing movements like Antifa, which shows that left-wing domestic terrorism is also a threat. This was an unacceptable action that needs to be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.