Illinois Mailman: Man Sent Salt in Envelopes to Four Members of Congress

A fifth letter sat in the home of a Chicago-area man before the FBI found it. Agents searched Matthew G. Unglesbee’s residence after he was charged with two felonies on Monday for mailing envelopes containing a white granular substance to four members of Congress.

The letters, sent on Oct. 19, bore Unglesbee’s return address. Each envelope contained a white powder and a handwritten note. Three of the notes read "HA HA," while the fourth, sent to a senator in the Northern District of Illinois, read "HAH enjoy the gift." Preliminary lab testing showed the substance contained no chemical or biological toxins. Unglesbee told the FBI the powder was salt.

Authorities first learned of the incident on Oct. 16. A tipster told the FBI that Unglesbee had overheard others discuss mailing suspicious substances to lawmakers at a restaurant. The tipster provided Unglesbee’s full name, address, and date of birth. FBI Chicago agents responded to three congressional offices in northern Illinois after one staffer noticed a powder-like texture inside an envelope and heard something rattle. That office had already received a similar letter weeks earlier.

Unglesbee admitted to sending the mail during an interview at his home on Saturday. He told agents he chose salt specifically because it resembled anthrax. He anticipated a hazmat response but claimed he was joking. "Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognized that the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat," the criminal complaint stated.

FBI Task Force Officer Chris Hobbs, who drafted the complaint, described the act as a common intimidation tactic. The charges include false information and hoaxes and mailing threatening communications. The discovery of the fifth letter in Unglesbee’s home, addressed to a Washington, D.C., office, suggests the campaign of mailings may have continued after the initial four recipients reported the envelopes.