TOPEKA – Republican leadership issued a statement on Monday provided to the Post by Sen. Rick Wilborn of McPherson.
The statement reads as follows:
"At this point, it appears over 100 elected state and legislative officials have received threatening letters filled with a suspicious powdery substance. Thankfully, the KDHE is saying the substance is presumptively negative for any biologicals. While this is certainly good news, it has nonetheless been a stressful last few days for our families and other citizens impacted by this cowardly attempt to intimidate the legislature. We urge all of our members to please remain vigilant and cautious when opening their mail as this case is still developing.
"We want to thank the leaders and agents of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, local law enforcement and fire departments, the Kansas National Guard, KDHE, the FBI, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and everyone else involved in the massive process of safely retrieving these envelopes. Many of these same people are also hard at work trying to find those behind this terrible act and we appreciate their expertise to quickly find those responsible and hold them accountable.
While we don't yet know who is behind this threat, our members will not be intimidated by extremists who look to undermine the will of the people we were elected to serve. We appreciate all of the prayers and support we've received from our Kansas communities and will continue to stand strong together to move forward.
Because this is an active investigation, we ask that all other inquiries be directed to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
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TOPEKA – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with assistance from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and other partners, updated findings on the white powder found in letters sent to Kansas legislators and public officials, according to a media release from the agency.
As of Sunday evening June 18, approximately 100 letters containing suspicious white powder have been received across the state of Kansas.
A small sample of the letters containing powder was sent to a laboratory that specializes in testing biological samples. Preliminary tests have returned from this lab indicating the substance is presumptively negative for common biological agents of concern.
Further and more complete testing will be conducted on this sample, as well as on additional letters that have been collected, in an effort to determine the components of the substance.