As tensions in Minnesota were ramping up at the start of the year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) quietly began requiring its workers to carry a letter at all times saying they are providing essential services of the federal government and are exempt from curfews..
The letter, dated January 5, 2026 and signed by Acting US Postmaster General Doug Tulino, almost immediately sparked speculation online by people, including postal workers, who took it to mean the Trump administration might deploy military forces in American streets. “It’s because Trump is acting so crazy that USPS thinks we may seriously about to be going to war or something like that [sic],” one redditor said in response to a question about the letters in r/USPS.
“It’s like they’re expecting WWIII to start soon, but people need their mail whether missile or bomb is raining down on us [sic],” another posted. Further down the thread, one redditor wrote, “god, on the precipices of a civil war and we still get junk mail [sic].”…