Kansas secretary of state, attorney general offices evacuated with separate suspicious packages

The Kansas Secretary of State's Office in Topeka was evacuated Monday after becoming the latest state elections office to receive suspicious mail. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — Authorities on Monday evacuated a building in downtown Topeka after separate suspicious packages were delivered to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office and Attorney General’s Office.

One package resembles similar suspicious packages that were sent to election offices in other states, where officials said they contained harmless white powder. But a spokeswoman for the Kansas Highway Patrol said the FBI was called to retrieve a larger package that was sent to the Attorney General’s Office. Authorities said they weren’t sure if the same person sent both packages.

Rosie Nichols, a spokeswoman for Topeka police, said in a statement that “several pieces of mail had an unknown substance on them,” and that “a field test found no hazardous materials.” She said further testing was planned.

The two packages were received about a half-hour apart at Memorial Hall, a building adjacent to the Capitol that houses both the secretary of state and attorney general offices. Election offices in Iowa, Nebraska. Oklahoma and Wyoming also received suspicious packages on Monday.

Clay Barker, general counsel to Secretary of State Scott Schwab, said the Kansas office was on alert after staff were briefed Monday that Nebraska’s election office had received a package with white powder and a return address that referenced “US Traitor Elimination Army.” When the Kansas office received a similar piece of mail later in the day, Barker said, staff notified the Kansas Highway Patrol, which ordered an evacuation out of an abundance of caution.

April McCollum, a spokeswoman for KHP, said a hazardous devices officer entered and collected the package.

Then, McCollum said, a second, larger package was reported at the Attorney General’s Office. She didn’t provide further details about the package, but she said the state fire marshal was on scene and requested the FBI respond to collect the package.

Elsewhere on Monday, the Oklahoma State Election Board received “a suspicious envelope in the mail containing a multi-page document and a white, powder substance,” said Misha Mohr, a spokeswoman for the board. The Oklahoma State Patrol secured the board’s office at the state Capitol until a hazmat team determined the substance was “wheat cereal,” meaning flour, Mohr said.

Also, the Iowa State Patrol evacuated the Lucas State Office Building, which houses the secretary of state’s office. The Des Moines Fire Department’s hazmat team tested the mail and determined there was no threat to the public.