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Authorities did not discover any substance in the "suspicious" items mailed to Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's campaign headquarters.
This comes after Lake's campaign alleged last week that a staffer was exposed to a "suspicious" white powdery substance sent in an envelope to her office. The staffer also found two additional envelopes with a resemblance to the first.
One of the three envelopes in question was disposed of before authorities arrived to investigate. Phoenix Police said Friday that an investigation and laboratory test confirmed there was no substance in the two remaining envelopes.
"The state lab tested the items turned over to them regarding incident #2022-1665892 and has determined there was no substance inside," police said.
KARI LAKE ON CAMPAIGN HQ RECEIVING ‘SUSPICIOUS’ ITEMS IN THE MAIL: ‘WE’RE IN DANGEROUS TIMES'
Law enforcement did not discover any substance in the "suspicious" items mailed to Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's campaign headquarters. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Police responded at around 10:15 p.m. local time on November 5 to a call at an office building near 40th Street and Camelback about "suspicious" mail.
The day before, a volunteer had opened an envelope allegedly containing a vulgar letter and a white powdery substance, Lake's campaign told FOX News Digital.
The volunteer had said the substance looked like baking flour. The substance and letter were thrown in the trash by the volunteer, and the cleaning crew disposed of the trash before police arrived at the scene the following day.
Two more pieces of mail resembling the first letter were also discovered by the same volunteer. The campaign's head of security, Scott Masino, was not notified of the letters until late at night on November 5.
Masino then went to the office and examined the letters. He told the police the letters were unopened and the seals were intact, but that he felt a powdery substance inside.
Phoenix Police said Friday that an investigation and laboratory test confirmed there was no substance in the envelope. (AP Photo/Matt York)
"Last week, our campaign received three letters with no return addresses," Masino said in a statement to FOX News Digital. "The first, which was opened by a campaign staffer last Friday, contained a white powdery substance along with a hateful letter. The staffer immediately threw the contents away. The staffer was unfamiliar with the protocol for security situations and did not notify senior staff until the next day, upon which I took the lead as head of security and immediately notified the Phoenix police department."
Specialized law enforcement units then responded to the scene and sealed the envelopes in separate bags, which were sent to the State Public Health Laboratory.
"Phoenix PD arrived on scene," Masino said. "By that point, the office trash had already been emptied. Nevertheless, given the contents of the first letter, the Phoenix PD decided to treat this case as a suspicious substance incident. Phoenix PD made the decision to bring in the bomb squad and FBI, and sent the remaining two letters to the lab to be examined. We have since learned that those two remaining letters had no substances inside as the first did."
The laboratory analysis found no powder and no harmful substance in either of the envelopes. The two letters did, however, include derogatory and vulgar language.
Phoenix Police did not respond to FOX News Digital's request for comment.
Officers had responded on November 6 to a "found property call at an office building" near 40th Street and Camelback. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Lake's campaign was shut down following the incident, just two days before her election against Democrat Katie Hobbs. No injuries were reported, and the staff member who opened the envelope received medical supervision.
The incident at Lake's headquarters came after Hobbs' headquarters was broken into last month.
Lake and Hobbs are still awaiting the results of their gubernatorial election.
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