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SALT LAKE CITY — FBI agents are investigating a suspicious letter filled with white powder that was addressed to Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson's staff office.
"This incident is the latest tactic in a nationwide trend of threats and intimidation toward election officials. But we will not be intimidated," Henderson said in a statement Friday afternoon.
The letter, signed by the "United States Traitor Elimination Army," was intercepted in Reno, Nevada, on Friday morning, the lieutenant governor's office said. Police are investigating the threat and testing the substance.
"I am grateful for the swift action of postal workers and law enforcement and the perseverance of election workers who show up and do their jobs every day despite all the rhetoric and risk. We love them. We owe them. They are heroes," Henderson said.
As lieutenant governor, Henderson serves as Utah's chief elections officer.
A statement from Henderson's office said Utah is one of more than 20 states targeted with election threats in the last week. State law enforcement officials will monitor the situation and take "all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of election workers and maintain an orderly election," the statement says.
We will not be intimidated. pic.twitter.com/azi57ySePF
— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) September 20, 2024
During a press conference Friday afternoon, Henderson said this situation is "not an easy thing to process" and emphasized that elections are a "vital, foundational, fundamental part of our free society."
"To see elections and election workers, election officials become the target of harassment and intimidation and threats is incredibly disturbing. I think everybody should care about this. Everybody should be disturbed — even if it didn't happen in our state," she said.
Henderson said she hopes Americans can all tone down the political rhetoric and pay attention to whether they are feeding into chaos.
"There's a difference between expressing frustration or support or opposition to political candidates, and trying to undermine democracy. Trying to undermine government, trying to undermine other people's faith in our system of government. And honestly, trying to sow chaos. Trying to harm and intimidate people into doing what you want them to do. That's not how we should be doing things in the United States of America," she said.
Everyone should be concerned about threats to democratic institutions, she said.
"We have to have order. We have to have process. We have to have rule of law in order to protect our freedom," she said.
She said the good news is the "vast majority" of Americans "do not put up with this bull crap." She encouraged people to speak out against things like this.
During his monthly PBS news conference Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox decried the rise in threats of political violence across the country, including in Utah.
"(I'm) concerned about our country right now — the extremes that we're seeing in political discourse that is leading, of course, to political violence," he said.
