NEW YORK — White powder was discovered at the Manhattan district attorney’s office Friday in an envelope marked “Alvin” with a return address for “Donald Trump,” law enforcement sources told the Daily News.
The unknown substance — which was determined to be a bogus threat — was discovered in the DA’s mail room at 80 Centre St., where a grand jury has been hearing evidence against the former president since January in the Stormy Daniels hush money probe, a court official told the Daily News.
The white powder was in an envelope marked “Alvin,” according to the NYPD. A police source told The News that the return address said “Donald Trump.”
A spokeswoman for District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the substance was immediately contained and that the NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection determined it was not dangerous.
In the wake of the incident, Bragg sent an officewide email to his staff, which a source shared exclusively with The News, confirming the threat was bogus and outlining security measures in place to guard against any possible threats.
“In the extremely unlikely event that there is an emergency, the Office’s notification system is equipped to send automated messages — including voice, text messages, and email — to provide accurate, real-time information and instructions. We have no reason to think that will happen but want to assure you that we are well-prepared for any possibility,” Bragg wrote.
The DA’s email revealed that staffers have in recent days received alarming calls to their work lines.
“I know some of you have received offensive or threatening phone calls or emails directly to your desk lines. I am very sorry that you have had to endure these distressing disruptions to your workdays. Please know, you do not need to listen to or speak with inappropriate callers,” Bragg said.
Bragg’s email also gave a heads-up to staff that filming set to take place about the courthouse this weekend might include “fictional explosions.” The downtown courthouses are a popular filming spot, with camera crews for “Law & Order” regularly taping episodes outside the historic court buildings.
Trump has aggressively taken direct aim at Bragg in multiple social media posts this week, calling him a “Soros-backed animal,” which New York civil rights leaders criticized as racist and anti-Semitic. In one Truth Social post this week, Trump shared an article with a photo of him standing with a baseball bat next to a picture of Bragg.
“It is alarming but not surprising given the kind of rhetoric that we heard by some of the supporters of Trump and by Trump himself posing for a picture with a [bat] next to Alvin Bragg,” Rev. Al Sharpton told The News, reacting to the latest threat.
“I think this has the possibility of suggesting to someone who may be just a prankster or just someone that is very dangerous to try and put the life of the Manhattan DA in jeopardy. This is a very dangerous thing to do.”
The discovery follows a series of threats this week as scores of reporters have been staking out the lower Manhattan offices in anticipation of an indictment against Trump. The former president whipped up a frenzy after wrongly predicting last weekend that he would be arrested on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, unfounded bomb threats were made against the DA’s office, nearby court buildings, and NYPD Headquarters. Someone called 911 reporting that a bomb had been placed at Manhattan Criminal Court.
There is no indication the panel has finished hearing evidence in the proceedings nor when they will vote on whether to indict Trump. The grand jury believed to be hearing about Trump’s hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election is slated to reconvene on Monday, a law enforcement source told The News.
Trump took to his social media site early Friday, threatening that “potential death & destruction” could result if he is criminally charged.
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