Unknown white powder in letter shuts down Secretary of State’s office

An unknown white powder was found Tuesday afternoon in a letter sent to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office in Baton Rouge, according to a social media post from Secretary of State Nancy Landry. 

Deputy Secretary Trey Williams confirmed that an elections division employee at the office opened a letter around 12:20 p.m. that contained a powdery substance. Law enforcement were called in to test the substance as the elections department was evacuated and air conditioning in the office on Archives Avenue building was shut off to contain the powder. 

Williams said preliminary tests of the substance on site did not identify the powder as harmful, but a sample will undergo additional testing for confirmation. Police were no longer at the building, which plans to resume normal operating hours tomorrow, he said.

The state employee who opened the envelope was taken to the emergency room as a precautionary measure and was unharmed. 

There was no interruption in voter registration activity for the Nov. 3 election from the incident, Williams said. In-person registration ended earlier this month, and Tuesday — 20 days before Election Day — is the last day to register online to vote. 

Online registration remains available until 11:59 p.m. through the GeauxVote registration system and app.