Illinois man Matthew charged over white-powder letters to Congress, tells FBI the substance was salt sent as a joke

An Illinois man has been charged with two felonies after allegedly sending letters containing an unknown white powder substance to members of Congress, according to a criminal complaint. Matthew G. Unglesbee was charged on Monday with false information and hoaxes and with mailing threatening communications.

According to the complaint, four members of Congress received the letters, and each letter was marked with Unglesbee's name and return address.

Unglesbee told the FBI the substance in the letters was salt and that he mailed them as a joke, the complaint read.

The FBI received a tip on October 16 that Unglesbee had sent the letters. The tipster had overheard Unglesbee at a restaurant saying he had mailed suspicious substances to members of Congress, the complaint stated. The tipster provided authorities with Unglesbee's full name, address and date of birth.

Members of the FBI's field office in Chicago responded to the offices of three members of Congress in the northern Illinois area after receiving the tip and a 911 call from one of the congressional offices.

A staff member at the first office to receive a letter noticed that the letter felt like it contained a powder and that something could be heard inside the letter, the complaint read. That staff member called 911. According to the complaint, the office had already been on high alert, having received a similar letter within the previous few weeks.

All three letters contained a white granular substance and a handwritten note which read 'HA HA', the complaint stated.

On Friday, FBI Chicago responded to the office of a fourth member of Congress, a senator in the Northern District of Illinois. The senator had also received an envelope with a white granular substance and a note reading 'HAH enjoy the gift'. All four letters were marked with Unglesbee's name and return address, according to the complaint.

FBI Task Force Officer Chris Hobbs, who wrote the criminal complaint, characterised the letters as a common intimidation tactic, pointing out that preliminary lab testing did not detect the presence of chemical or biological toxins in the white granular substance.

The FBI interviewed Unglesbee at his home on Saturday, when he allegedly confessed to sending the letters, saying he had heard someone in a restaurant talking about similar letters Congress members had received. He told the FBI he knew his powder would be perceived as potentially being anthrax and anticipated people responding in hazmat suits. He also said the powder was salt, claiming he used salt specifically because it looked like anthrax.

According to the complaint, Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognised that the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat. The FBI searched Unglesbee's home and found a fifth letter marked with one of the congresspeople's Washington, D.C., office's address. The FBI also determined that Unglesbee sent the letters on October 19.