Authorities are investigating an envelope containing a powdery white substance that was sent to the office that oversees elections in Maine.
The envelope was discovered late Tuesday afternoon by staff in the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions within the Secretary of State's Office. The floor of the Cross Office Building where the office is located was evacuated, although the rest of the large state office building and adjacent State House remained open.
Responding agencies tested the substance on-site and those tests came back negative, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety. There were no injuries, Moss said.
Because of the location of the incident, agents within the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which is part of the Secretary of State's office, are leading the investigation. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office declined further comment on Wednesday.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows made national headlines last month after she ruled that former President Trump was ineligible to participate in Maine's upcoming primary elections under the insurrection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Trump's campaign is appealing Bellows' decision in state court.
Bellows has said that she and other members of her staff were threatened or harassed after the decision. State police also responded to a "swatting" incident at Bellows' home days after the decision, which is when someone makes an urgent but false report to police with the goal of sparking a large, heavily armed response from law enforcement.
