Letters

Nov. 3, 2026 11:26 AM PT

OKLAHOMA CITY — Federal authorities charged an Oklahoma City man with sending hundreds of letters containing nonhazardous white powder to public officials ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections.

The powders turned out to be yeast or flour, though not all letters have been fully tested, the FBI said in a court filing made public Tuesday.

Robin Martin is charged with conveying a hoax and mailing threatening communications. Martin was arrested Monday and was expected to make an appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City.

Online records do not list an attorney who could comment on his behalf, and several relatives didn’t immediately respond to social media messages seeking comment.

Federal authorities announced last month that they were investigating letters with “suspicious substances” that had been mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide and urged recipients to treat the mailings as “potentially hazardous.”

The packages led to the evacuation in October of election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma. Numerous states, from Idaho to Florida, said their election offices either received letters or had them intercepted by the Postal Service.

Investigators believe more than 700 mailings appeared to be associated with the same sender. They were addressed to election officials, members of Congress, pollsters, news media and federal law enforcement, FBI agent David Cole said in an affidavit.

The investigation stretched back to 2024 when multiple election officials in every state reported mail with a white substance and a three-page letter declaring war, the FBI said. Some bore ominous messages that could only be read under ultraviolet light.

The sender wrote a return address as “U.S.T.E.A., United States Traitor Elimination Army, Takoma Park, MD.”

A common message in the 2024 and 2026 mailings was a warning to recipients about upcoming arrests for treason “or worse!!”

The FBI said it has video evidence of Martin’s car stopping in October at mailboxes at Postal Service sites in Oklahoma City, Dallas and San Antonio. Investigators also gleaned his fingerprints from a letter addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel, whose first name was written as “Kashyap.”

The Democratic Socialists of America apparently assisted the FBI in the investigation. The FBI said it believes Martin, posing as someone using the name George Livingston, posted a message to a DSA email list in October, warning that members were traitors and eligible for arrest for treason if they vote in the Nov. 3 election.

White and Hollingsworth write for the Associated Press. AP journalist Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed reporting.

Given the problem the Dodgers have with their pitchers staying in the rotation for the whole season, and the way Shohei Ohtani was lunging for sweepers, I would say, “Don’t allow him to hit anymore.” Bill Plaschke says Ohtani led them to two championships. In 2024, the 55/55 year, he indeed did, although I would argue that Freddie Freeman did even more. But last year, many others were responsible for their ultimate victory, not Ohtani. Use him as a pitcher and a part-time hitter.

Mike Schaller
Temple City

So Bill Plaschke has momentarily stopped playing psychic and has morphed into general manager, saying the Dodgers should either force Shohei Ohtani to stop pitching or trade him. Is Plaschke part of the medical staff of the Dodgers so he knows the root causes of Ohtani’s injuries this year, or what it might take this offseason to fix them?

He has written a lot of inane columns making bold statements that he usually has to eat crow on, and trading Ohtani while he is still one of the best players on the planet would fall into that category. Ohtani will eventually get to the point where his body can’t do both, but I’m sure no one is using Bill Plaschke’s medical expertise to determine when that might be.

Danny Balber Jr.
Pasadena

OK, so now Plaschke is ready to give the boot to Shohei Ohtani, the baseball GOAT, as he much as he was gleefully behind basketball GOAT LeBron James’ departure based upon his controlling of the team’s condition, from trades to draft picks. This takes more chutzpah than Ohtani’s insistence to continue as a two-way player.

When will the L.A. Times decide they’ve had enough of him?

Ron Brumel
West Los Angeles

Oct. 15, 2026 Updated 9:38 AM PT

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are investigating letters with “suspicious substances” that have been mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide and are urging recipients to treat the mailings as “potentially hazardous.”

The investigation by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police was first disclosed in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. The notice, sent to Senate offices, said that law enforcement officials were working to intercept any additional letters, but “it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.”

In Congress, the threat appeared limited to the Senate, though the House was monitoring the situation, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

An FBI statement said the bureau and the Postal Inspection Service were “investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices.”

“Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident,” the statement read. “We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.”

Mailed packages containing a powdery substance led to the evacuation this week of election offices in at least two states, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The Ohio secretary of state said the Postal Service intercepted a package containing a white powder intended for its office and noted that similar mailings had been sent to election officials in multiple states.

News of the letters comes just three weeks before Election Day and is reminiscent of a similar threat in 2023, when election offices in six states received mailings that contained a white powder. In some cases, the incidents disrupted work around local elections.

Some of those letters contained threats and traces of the powerful opioid fentanyl, leading some election offices to stock up on the overdose reversal medication naloxone.

The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors issued a joint statement condemning what they said were threats against election staff.

“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” they said in their statement.

Deputy Postal Inspector Brendan Donahue told reporters Thursday that “any threat or attack on election officials is unacceptable” and that “we are also working with our partners on identifying the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.”

Mascaro and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press.