Sen. Ricketts and Sec. Evnen receive suspicious envelopes; FBI is investigating

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – With election day just weeks away, officials across the country are receiving suspicious letters.

As of Friday, that includes Senator Pete Ricketts and Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen.

Rickett’s communications director, Leah Selk, sent Channel 8 the following statement about the receipt of an envelope with white powder on it.

“Today my Omaha office received a letter with a powdery substance. The letter matches the description of letters sent to other congressional and state offices across the nation. Our team worked closely with Omaha PD, FBI, and Capitol Police. They confirmed the substance was not harmful. We are grateful for our law enforcement.” – Senator Pete Ricketts

Omaha Police also confirmed directly with Channel 8 that the substance has already been tested and is not hazardous.

This happening just a day after Evnan’s business services division office received a suspicious envelope as well.

Evnan’s staffer Rani Taborek-Potter sent Channel 8 the following statement about the matter.

The Secretary of State’s office received a suspicious envelope matching the description of suspicious mailings sent to other state election offices across the country this week. The envelope was not opened, and it was quickly isolated once detected in accordance with established protocols. The envelope has since been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further analysis.

“This is the second time we have had a situation like this occur during my time as Nebraska’s Secretary of State and, in both instances, swift action was taken to isolate and then investigate the suspicious mailing,” said Secretary Evnen. “I’d like to thank both my staff at the Secretary of State’s office for their diligence and law enforcement for their assistance.” – Secretary of State Bob Evnan

Taborek-Potter told Channel 8 during a phone call on Friday that their team helped get the envelope to law enforcement swiftly thanks to strong protocols in place.

She also said that not much has changed with their daily operations since receiving the letter, adding that Secretary Evnan will continue as planned with administering the upcoming election.

This is an ongoing investigation with the FBI currently and there have not been any updates about where the envelopes came from.