FBI Charges Oklahoma Man With Mailing Over 700 Powder-Filled Letters to Officials

More than 700 mailings containing nonhazardous white powder were sent to public officials across the United States, according to a federal affidavit released Tuesday. FBI agent David Cole stated in the document that the letters were addressed to election officials, members of Congress, pollsters, news media, and federal law enforcement agents.

Federal authorities charged Robin Martin on Monday with conveying a hoax and mailing threatening communications. He was expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Online records did not list an attorney representing Martin at the time of the filing.

The FBI determined that the powders were primarily yeast or flour, though some letters had not yet been fully tested. Officials initially urged recipients to treat the mailings as potentially hazardous after announcing an investigation into suspicious substances last month.

The investigation revealed a pattern stretching back to 2024, when election officials in every state reported receiving mail with a white substance. The packages included a three-page letter declaring war on the recipients. The same sender used a return address identifying as the U.S.T.E.A., or United States Traitor Elimination Army, located in Takoma Park, Maryland.

A recurring message in the 2024 and 2026 mailings warned recipients of upcoming arrests for treason or worse. The volume of mail led to the evacuation of election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma in October. States ranging from Idaho to Florida confirmed that their election offices either received the letters or had them intercepted by the Postal Service.