Illinois man faces charges over powder-filled letters to Congress

An Illinois man faces federal charges after allegedly mailing four letters containing a white granular substance to members of Congress — and putting his own name and home address on every envelope.

Matthew Unglesbee, 36, of Quincy, was charged with false information and hoaxes and mailing threatening communications. He remained in the custody of U.S. marshals on Tuesday, The Guardian reported, with a detention hearing tentatively scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Springfield.

Unglesbee told FBI investigators on Sunday that the substance was salt, chosen because it “kind of looks like” anthrax, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday. Preliminary tests found no biological or chemical toxin, The Guardian reported.

The letters included handwritten messages reading “HA HA” and “Hah enjoy the gift,” according to the accounts of the complaint. Unglesbee allegedly told investigators he expected the recipients to “take it serious” because they could mistake the substance for anthrax, which he knew was dangerous. He also expected hazardous-materials teams to respond.

“Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognized the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat,” the complaint said.

The four letters went to congressional offices in northern Illinois, The Guardian reported. Staff members at the offices had warned one another to watch for envelopes bearing Unglesbee’s name, and none who handled the mail opened them, according to the complaint. FBI personnel trained to handle biochemical threats went to three offices after staff contacted authorities; hazardous-materials teams responded to two, The Guardian reported.

Investigators also found an empty, unmailed envelope at Unglesbee’s home addressed to a member of Congress, according to the FBI.

The investigation began with an anonymous online tip received Oct. 16 from someone who said they had overheard Unglesbee discussing plans to mail a suspicious substance to members of Congress, NBC News reported. The FBI responded when letters arrived at congressional offices three days later, NBC News reported.

Unglesbee said he sent the letters after overhearing someone at a restaurant mention news about other suspicious mailings, according to the complaint. He denied involvement in those earlier letters. The FBI is separately investigating suspicious mail sent to members of Congress and election officials in recent weeks.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, said Monday that she was aware of reports of an arrest connected to the most recent suspicious letter sent to her Skokie district office. She received a second suspicious letter on Oct. 21, NBC News reported.

“I will not let threats stand in the way of serving the people of the 9th District,” Schakowsky said in a statement thanking law enforcement. “My community relies on the services our office provides, and my team and I will continue doing the work I was elected to do.”