A man from downstate Quincy, Illinois, has been arrested on federal charges in connection to letters containing white powder that were sent to members of Congress in the Chicago area.
Matthew Unglesbee, 37, is charged with mailing threatening communications and mailing false information and hoaxes, according to court documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
According to the documents, the FBI received an anonymous tip reporting Unglesbee for mailing substances to members of Congress. According to the affidavit, the tipster said they heard Unglesbee say he mailed letters to congresspeople across the country.
According to court documents, after three members of Congress reported to the FBI's Chicago office that they had received envelopes with suspicious powder inside, they were able to compare the envelopes.
The first three letters the FBI was notified about contained "a white granular substance" and a handwritten letter reading "HA HA," court documents said. The fourth letter, which was reported to the FBI two days after the first three, also had a white grainy substance and a handwritten letter reading "HAH enjoy the gift."
Each of them had a handwritten address and return address, court documents say, and all were postmarked in Springfield, Illinois.
The return addresses also listed the sender as "Matthew Unglesbee" and the return address matched his address in government records, law enforcement said.
While the substance appeared similar to possible toxins or biological agents, law enforcement said testing did not find it was a harmful or toxic substance.
According to the court documents, when the FBI went to his home to interview him about the letters, Unglesbee admitted to the officers he had mailed them after hearing someone in a restaurant mention a news story about other lawmakers – including Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer – receiving envelopes with white powder in them.
According to court documents, Unglesbee told FBI agents the substance in the letters he had mailed was salt. He denied any involvement with the letters mailed to members of Congress outside Illinois.
"The use of the mail to threaten others, including the mailing of threatening substances, will not be tolerated. These threats will be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. My office appreciates the resources dedicated by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to keep our citizens safe," said U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois Gregory M. Gilmore.
U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Mike Quigley and Brad Schneider all received suspicious letters at their district offices in Skokie, Chicago and Lincolnshire in the past weeks. Schakowsky's office received suspicious mail twice in seven days. In all cases, hazmat teams responded and the FBI was called to investigate. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Robin Kelly also confirmed receiving suspicious letters.
"I'm aware of reports that a suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the most recent suspicious letter sent to my Skokie office. I'm grateful to the law enforcement officers who acted quickly and decisively to help ensure the safety of me and my staff and are working to hold those responsible accountable," said Schakowsky in a statement. "I will not let threats stand in the way of serving the people of the 9th District. My community relies on the services our office provides, and my team and I will continue doing the work I was elected to do."
Quigley says his district offices got two threatening letters.
"When you read these, their intent is to intimidate and threaten just weeks before the midterm election," he said. "It wasn't implied, it was direct threats. Somehow threats and violence have become normalized."
The Adams County Sheriff's Office confirmed Unglesbee was being held in their county jail to face state charges of harassment through electronic communications at the time federal charges were filed against him.
The FBI says that during a search of his home, a fifth unsent letter was found addressed to a Congress member's office in Washington, D.C.
"Some of these threats don't make sense they aren't rational that's why some are really hard to catch the person. I just think they get caught up in the craziness and intensity and the anger," Quigley said.
Unglesbee is listed as a registered sex offender in Adams County in the Illinois State Police database, with an address listed in Quincy, Illinois.
According to federal court records, Unglesbee made an initial appearance on the federal charges on Monday afternoon by video conference. Federal prosecutors are seeking to have him detained pending trial, and a detention hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday.
