An Illinois man was charged Monday with mailing letters containing a white granular substance to four members of Congress, telling investigators he used salt because it looked like anthrax, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The complaint says the letters were postmarked Oct. 19 in Springfield, Illinois, and arrived at district offices between Oct. 21 and Oct. 23.
Three contained the handwritten note “HA HA”, while one to a senator’s office read “HAH enjoy the gift,” according to the filing. Preliminary testing found no chemical or biological toxins in the letters.
An anonymous tip reached the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center on Oct. 16, with the tipster saying he overheard Matthew G. Unglesbee in a restaurant discussing the mailings. The tipster provided Unglesbee’s name, address, and date of birth, the filing said….