U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s Milwaukee office received a suspicious envelope Monday afternoon, the latest in a wave of similar mailings targeting Wisconsin elected officials, the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and other institutions amid a federal investigation.
Johnson, a Republican, said the envelope arrived at 2:38 p.m. CT. “The return address matched the description of letters sent to other congressional and state offices across the nation,” he wrote on X. Staff isolated the item, evacuated the office, and contacted 911 and the Senate Sergeant at Arms. First responders confiscated the envelope. No one was harmed, and office operations resumed normally. Johnson thanked local law enforcement and first responders for their response.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin also reported receiving a letter containing a suspicious substance at her Milwaukee office the same day. “Thankfully, everyone is safe and the matter is being investigated by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” Baldwin said, expressing appreciation for local police and law enforcement.
The incidents fit a pattern that has drawn responses from the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Capitol Police. Authorities have said they are examining a series of suspicious mailings sent nationwide to congressional offices, Secretaries of State, and election-related offices. Some contain an unknown white powder substance. Recipients have been advised to treat the items as potentially hazardous, though field tests in multiple cases, including in Wisconsin, have found no hazardous materials.
Other Wisconsin recipients include:
- U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, whose district office received mail with a suspicious substance last week. Milwaukee Fire Department hazmat crews responded around 2:25 p.m. on Oct. 16; the package was determined nonhazardous. Moore said her staff followed protocols but that mail will no longer be sorted at the office.
- U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Madison Democrat, whose downtown office received a similar piece of mail Monday. Hazmat responded; initial on-site testing was negative, and the materials were sent to the State Laboratory of Hygiene for further analysis.
- The Wisconsin Elections Commission, which received a letter matching the description of others containing a powdery substance on Oct. 14. Staff did not open it and alerted authorities. Field testing detected no hazardous material, and Administrator Meagan Wolfe said the incident would not affect administration of the Nov. 3 election.
- The Marquette University Law School Poll, which also received a suspicious mailing. Milwaukee Fire Department hazmat crews responded, and testing found nothing dangerous.
The mailings have reached offices of both parties and election related entities in Wisconsin and across the country in the weeks before the midterm elections, with early voting set to begin in the state on Tuesday. The FBI has said it is working with partners to respond to each incident and identify those responsible. In prior similar cases, some substances have tested as nonhazardous materials such as baking powder or other innocuous powders, though investigators continue to treat the series seriously.
No arrests have been announced, and officials have not publicly linked the Wisconsin incidents to any specific individual or motive. Wisconsin leaders from both parties have emphasized that staff followed established protocols and that operations continue.
