Maxine Waters Offices Evacuated After Major Security Threat Shows Up on Doorstep
The building containing Rep. Maxine Waters’ district office was partially evacuated Tuesday after a suspicious package was delivered with a threatening message on the label.
“The package was addressed to ‘Anne Thrax,'” Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said in an LAFD alert. “One person came in contact with the package and did not have any medical complaints.”
The label to ‘Anne Thrax’ was believed to be a reference to anthrax, a lethal bacteria that can be sent by mail in bioterrorist attacks, according to The Blaze.
Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to the reports of the suspicious package and called in the LAFD hazardous material team.
Only affected portions of the building were evacuated, and the hazardous material team determined that “no hazard existed,” USA Today reported.
The investigation was later taken over by the FBI after a referral from the LAPD Major Crimes Division.
Waters has been a fiercely vocal opponent of President Donald Trump’s and has recently been criticized for calling for the harassment of Trump administration officials.
“If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. Tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere!” she said at a “Keep Families Together” rally in June.
The representative refused to back down from her comments even after a conservative watchdog group filed an ethics complaint with the House Office of Congressional Ethics against her for “inciting mob violence” against Trump officials.
After the controversy surrounding her comments, Waters expressed concern that she could be the target of “armed protests.”
Specifically, she referenced the Oath Keepers, a group consisting of military veterans and former law enforcement officers that released a “call to action” this week encouraging ongoing protests outside of her Los Angeles office and across the city.
She addressed her supporters in a Facebook post on July 18 and told them to avoid the protesters.
“In order to ensure the peace and security of our community, it is best and preferable if no other demonstrations are scheduled on the same date and time as the Oath Keepers’ planned protest,” she wrote.
“I am requesting those individuals and groups planning a counter-protest to not be baited into confronting the Oath Keepers with any demonstrations in opposition,” she wrote. “Such an occurrence would only exacerbate tensions and increase the potential for conflict.”
It is unclear if this suspicious package was a direct result of her comments advocating for mob action against Trump Cabinet members.
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