More Senate offices have received mail with “suspicious powdery substance” and they appear linked to other similar letters that originated from Oregon, officials said Thursday.

An email from Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer reveals that several more state Senate offices have received “threatening mail” that matched the return address of earlier suspicious letters. He said that other letters had different return addresses, though they too came from the Pacific Northwest. But he didn’t announce which offices had been targeted.

“While none of the mail received and tested thus far has been found to be harmful, it is clear that the person sending these letters is organized and committed, and the potential to do harm remains very real,” Gainer said.

Gainer, the Senate’s chief law enforcement officer, added that suspicious mail with an Oregon return address should be “set aside and not opened.”

The Capitol has taken extra precautions in reviewing incoming mail since the anthrax attacks of 2001 when letters with the deadly toxin were sent to several news media bureaus and Senate officials, including Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. The attacks killed two postal workers.

“This rash of suspicious letters demonstrates once again how important it is for Senate offices to follow recommended mail-handling protocols,” Gainer said Thursday.

(Source: Politico)