Suspicious letters sent to Times and to Palm Desert's McCallum Theatre
The letters contained a granular substance that was found to be harmless. The FBI is investigating. A similar letter was sent to a Barack Obama campaign office.
Suspicious letters delivered to a theater in Palm Desert and to the Los Angeles Times on Friday appeared to contain no hazardous materials, FBI officials confirmed.
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the letters, but said the granular substance in the letters tested negative for hazardous biological or chemical materials.
"Further testing will be conducted, but that is routine," Eimiller said.
Employees of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert discovered the suspicious letter Friday morning and notified the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, according to Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela. The theater's employees were evacuated while a hazardous-materials team secured the letter and forwarded it to the FBI.
Friday's scheduled performance by singer Boz Scaggs was canceled. Comedian Bill Maher is scheduled to perform there this evening.
A similar letter delivered to The Times mailroom on Friday was also being investigated.
The envelope was addressed to two Times reporters and bore no return address, said Times Senior Security Manager Larry Belkin. "Save the Babies" was handwritten on the envelope's face, and "Kill All Obama Supporters" was written on the back, Belkin said. Inside was a one-page letter and a light brown granular substance.
FBI officials said the letter was very similar to one delivered on Thursday to an Obama campaign office in Palms, Belkin said.
