A letter containing an unidentified white powder sent to the home of Donald Trump Jr in Jupiter, Florida, prompted emergency crews to respond on Monday.
A person familiar with the matter said that results of tests on the substance were inconclusive, but officials do not believe it was deadly. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm details of the letter, which were first reported by the Daily Beast.
The eldest son of the former president and frontrunner for the Republican nomination opened the letter – which also contained a death threat – in his home office, and emergency responders wearing hazmat suits responded.
Police in Jupiter, Florida, said the Palm Beach sheriff’s office was leading the investigation. The sheriff’s office said it was collaborating with the US Secret Service but didn’t have any further details. The Secret Service declined to comment.
Trump Jr is one of his father’s top campaign surrogates, frequently headlining events and appearing in interviews on his behalf.
He and his brother Eric were each recently ordered to pay nearly $4.7m in the New York civil fraud case that led to more than $454m in penalties against their father. Donald Trump Jr also received a two-year ban from serving as a top executive at any New York company or seeking loans from any bank registered in the state, as did his brother.
Monday was the second time white powder has been sent to the former president’s oldest son. In 2018, his then wife, Vanessa, was taken to a New York City hospital after she opened an envelope addressed to her husband that contained an unidentified white powder. Police later said the substance was not dangerous.
In March 2016, police detectives and FBI agents investigated a threatening letter sent to the Manhattan apartment of Eric Trump which also contained a white powder that turned out to be harmless.
Envelopes containing white powder were also sent twice in 2016 to Trump Tower, which served as the elder Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters.
Hoax attacks using white powder play on fears that date to 2001, when letters containing deadly anthrax were mailed to news organizations and the offices of two US senators. Those letters killed five people.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
