An Oregon man has been arrested and charged in connection with mailing more than 100 letters containing white powder to members of Congress and news organizations in recent weeks, the FBI said Friday night.
The man, Christopher Lee Colson, 39, of the Portland are, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in federal court. A grand jury in Portland on Friday indicted Carlson on one count of mailing a threatening communication to a member of Congress and one count of mailing a letter threatening to use a biological weapon to a U.S. senator.
The powder in all of the letters, which were still showing up at offices in Washington as recently as Thursday, has tested negative for toxic substances, the FBI said. But Greg Fowler, the FBI's special agent in charge in Oregon, said, "Threatening letters — whether hoax or real — are serious concerns that federal law enforcement agencies will aggressively pursue."
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