'Suspicious package' sent to Congresswoman Jayapal's office in Seattle

The hazmat team gave the all-clear after a suspicious substance was found in an office building in downtown Seattle this afternoon. The building is where Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal's Seattle office is located A busy Friday afternoon in downtown Seattle, even busier as Seattle Fire's hazmat crews responded to calls about a possible hazardous substance found in the mailroom of this office building on 6th Avenue. As a safety precaution, we evacuated the entire second floor, And then our hazmat crews went inside to investigate. Seattle Fire's David Corpo says a mailroom worker found the envelope or package and called 911. It's unclear exactly what sparked the suspicion, but- Whenever something is coming from a place that they probably don't know of, they'll contact the authorities and then escalate it accordingly. Representative Pramila Jayapal confirmed her office received a suspicious package Friday. In a statement, she wrote, we are following protocol. And at the time being, my staff and I are safe. The congresswoman went on to say the seemingly deliberate and widespread attack on our democracy is unacceptable. Seattle Fire says this is the second time in two days they've responded to this type of incident. It also comes as Washington's Secretary of State's office says law enforcement intercepted a letter containing white powder. That letter was addressed to the state's election division. On social media, Secretary of State Hobbs said, an attack on election officials or candidates is an attack on our democracy. I thank our federal partners who are doing everything they can to investigate these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice. Less than two hours later, the hazmat team gave the all clear. Corbo says there were no injuries and crews turned over any evidence to the US Postal Service's inspector. Kind of scary at first until you kind of know that they have it under control. And Fox 13 reached out to USPS about this, but have yet to hear back.