Illinois man charged with mailing white powder to 4 members of Congress
An Illinois man has been arrested on federal charges after allegedly mailing letters containing a white substance to four members of Congress, according to authorities. Authorities say he told them he used salt because it looked like anthrax.
Matthew G. Unglesbee, 36, of Quincy, was arrested Sunday after federal authorities executed a search warrant, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. A criminal complaint charging him with false information and hoaxes and mailing threatening communications was unsealed Monday.
According to an FBI affidavit, agents recovered letters from three congressional district offices in northern Illinois on October 21. Each contained a white granular substance and a handwritten message reading “HA HA.”
Two days later, agents recovered another envelope from a senator’s office in northern Illinois. It contained a similar substance and a handwritten message reading “HAH enjoy the gift.” The complaint does not identify the lawmakers.
Hazardous materials teams responded to at least two offices. At one Chicago office, a staff member isolated the mail, cleared the area and called 911 after finding an envelope bearing the suspect’s name, according to the affidavit.
None of the recipients opened the letters. Preliminary laboratory testing did not detect chemical or biological toxins in the substance.
All four envelopes carried the suspect’s name and home address as the return address and were postmarked in Springfield on October 19. Postal inspectors determined they appeared to have been mailed from Quincy on October 16 or 17.
The FBI had received an anonymous tip on October 16 from someone who reported overhearing the suspect in a restaurant saying he had mailed suspicious substances to members of Congress.
During an interview Sunday, the suspect admitted sending the four letters after hearing someone in a restaurant discuss news reports about earlier suspicious mailings.
He told agents the substance was salt and said he chose it because it “kind of looks like anthrax since it’s white,” according to the affidavit. He said he was joking but acknowledged that recipients would not know that and could perceive the letters as threats.
The suspect denied involvement in the earlier mailings discussed in news reports. During the search of his home, agents found an empty, unmailed envelope addressed to the Washington office of one of the lawmakers who received a letter.
The suspect appeared on court Monday. A detention hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Springfield.
