FBI to run more tests on mystery substance mailed to LDS Church

Published: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 12:04 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
A suspicious substance mailed to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is on its way to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va., for further testing.

FBI agents in Salt Lake City said they received a final report from the state health department on the white powdery substance in an envelope mailed to Temple Square last week. Tests were conducted to ensure it wasn't ricin, anthrax or any other biological weapon.

"It is not any kind of biological agent or toxin or even a new strain," FBI Special Agent Juan Becerra said Monday.

Envelopes with white powder were mailed to Temple Square, the LDS Church's temple in Los Angeles and a printing press belonging to the Catholic-affiliated Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Conn. Both churches were heavy backers of California's Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage in that state.

The FBI has labeled its probe a domestic terrorism investigation. Becerra would not say whether the agency had identified any suspects in the case, but he reiterated Monday that the FBI had no evidence that linked the threats to Proposition 8 or its opponents.

Many gay rights organizations also have decried the threats.

— Ben Winslow

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

previousnext

Latest comments

Health proposal not 'reform'

RE: RedShirt | 10:50 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009 To "Florida, the other Red State |...

Editorial: Red flags at Fort Hood

Greetings: I reckon I'm one of those folks that the DESERET NEWS considers...

Letters: A plea to senators

Mr. Olson must have studied history in the deep South sometime during the...

Whatever happens in the future, I hope the REAL fans will stick with them. I...

Cheers, maybe you are too young to remember the Utah Stars winning ABA...

I totally agree...this year the Christmas stuff was out even BEFORE HALLOWEEN...

Wounded Utes limp home

I am a BYU fan and I love all the great or not so great comments from...

Wounded Utes limp home

Who cares about how much TCU beat us by. TCU is good, don't strip them of...

For what it is worth I think that Bingham-Trinity game would have been closer...

Health proposal not 'reform'

Florida - The Other Red State, is 100% right. The GOP had their chance...

Advertisements
Advertisement