Secretary of State defiant after discovery of mysterious powder

They didn’t prepare for powder. 

Last month, when Michael Moore, the chief information security officer with the Secretary of State’s Office, and dozens of county employees gamed out election threats, they anticipated a dazzling array of potential problems. They gamed out AI bot attacks, federal agents descending on polling places, even acts of God like an unexpected severe weather event. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes even joked that the one scenario they weren’t prepared for was Godzilla. 

But one thing wasn’t on that September Wednesday afternoon’s agenda, and it played out Thursday afternoon inside the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office: a white, powdery substance in a nondescript envelope. 

“To whomever sent that package, you have failed,” Fontes told reporters Friday morning. “Our brave election workers are still at their posts. Our elections will proceed and on November 3, the people of Arizona, without threats, intimidation or fear, will decide the future of our state.” 

On the 7th floor of Arizona’s executive tower, an election employee opened a letter envelope addressed to the state Secretary of State’s Office at about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Inside was a “sufficient amount” of a mysterious white, powdery substance, Fontes said during a press conference Friday morning. Fontes couldn’t publicly identify the specific substance, citing the FBI and United States Postal Inspection Service’s ongoing investigation, but he added it was deemed “non-toxic.” 

“It may seem like yesterday was a special thing. To us, it was a Thursday,” Moore said at the press conference in front of the executive tower. “We unfortunately deal with threats constantly. That’s not new.” 

The fact that the envelope was sent to the Secretary of State’s office, not Pinal County’s, where the exercise was held, shows the litany of threats on the horizon and the variety of targets across the state. Training to prepare for powder-related attacks is “pretty standard,” Fontes said, and “most of the folks that we engage with have gone through some level of training regarding, at the very least, alertness as to substances that may show up in the mail.” 

The envelope was one of several mailed to election offices nationwide, including Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Ohio. Fontes said he didn’t have “specific information” regarding whether Arizona’s envelope was related to the others, but he said “if this is a coordinated attack” the FBI “will be looking very carefully at it.” 

“The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices,” FBI spokesperson Brooke Brennan said in a statement to Phoenix New Times. “Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident. We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.” 

After the employee opened the envelope, they immediately called Moore. He immediately contacted the FBI’s election crimes unit, which connected him with the hazmat unit. The executive tower was evacuated. The letter had moved through a state mail sorting facility south of the Capitol grounds, which was also quarantined and inspected. Local law enforcement then contacted a multi-pronged task force, including the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and deployed it. 

Within an hour of discovering the substance, the hazmat team and local law enforcement mobilized and entered the building and cleared it of harm. “You caused basically no disruption,” Moore said, directing his comments at the envelope’s sender. 

USPIS, DPS and the Phoenix Fire Department directed all questions to the agency. The Phoenix Police Department, which was providing traffic control, directed questions to DPS. 

Moore attended Pinal County’s tabletop exercise in September. The Secretary of State’s Office began conducting tabletop exercises in 2019 to prepare for election threats, such as Thursday’s attack. The attorney general’s office, the governor’s office, intelligence organizations, law enforcement agencies, county emergency managers, city clerk’s offices, and statewide election administrators all participate. The exercises help officials to prepare and work through potential emergencies. The Secretary of State’s Office hosted three statewide exercises with county election officials earlier this year. 

In 2024, there were 15 bomb threats made against polling stations statewide. The Secretary of State’s Office hadn’t prepared for bomb threats, but county and state employees used the training to respond quickly and prevent any significant disruption. This year, election employees have prepared for an unprecedented range of threats. Despite the high level of preparation, new threats — like Thursday’s — still pop up. 

A few weeks ago, the Secretary of State’s office beefed up its security. 

“It was a very bad choice on your part. You’re very likely going to lose your freedom as a result of attacking elections and democracy,” Moore said, directing his comments to the perpetrator. “I would recommend to anyone who’s considering threatening election officials: Don’t do it.”

Arizona leads the nation in convictions on threats against election officials, Moore said. Fontes said he hopes Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office and the U.S. Attorney General for the District of Arizona will investigate the incident. 

“Targeting election officials is unacceptable and those who do so will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Mayes said in a statement to New Times. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office directed questions to the FBI. 

Fontes emphasized that county election officials and voters shouldn’t be deterred.

“We are going to stay the course for our voters because that’s the job we’ve decided to do,” Fontes said. “The most powerful response to intimidation is participation.”