(The Center Square) – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose confirmed Wednesday morning his office was among 15 nationwide to receive a suspicious package containing a powdery substance.
LaRose, in a release, said investigators in other states determined the substance to be nonhazardous.
LaRose’s Public Integrity Division is working with law enforcement, including the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service, on the investigation.
“Fortunately, we were notified by our law enforcement partners to be on the lookout for this package, and we were able to intercept it before it reached our office,” LaRose said. “The security of our employees and all election officials across Ohio is a top concern as we enter a critical period in the election cycle. We’ve now seen two assassination attempts directed at a presidential candidate, and the FBI is actively investigating several threats here in Ohio. We need to lower the temperature of our political discourse and send a clear, bipartisan message that we resolve our elections in this country with ballots not bullets.”