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Suspicious Packages Sent To Handel’s Roswell Home, Neighbors

June 15th, 2017

Karen Handel, the Republican candidate in Georgia’s 6^th Congressional District special election, said on Thursday that a package containing threatening letters and a suspicious substance were sent to her home and to her neighbors.

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Handel said in a statement that her street in Roswell was being blocked off while law enforcement investigates.

WSB-TV reported that police have said the FBI has joined the investigation and that at least five homes on Handel’s street received envelopes with “a white powdery substance.”

Handel, the former Georgia secretary of state, is running against Democrat Jon Ossoff in Tuesday’s special election. Ossoff said he is aware of the threat against Handel and said his campaign also has received threats in recent weeks.

The suspicious package was sent a day after Republican House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot and wounded at a Virginia baseball field. He remains in critical condition. Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who also was at the baseball practice, was unhurt. He told WABE’s Lisa Hagen he’s concerned that intense political rhetoric is putting lawmakers in danger.

The AJC reported Thursday that the alleged gunman in the Congressional baseball shooting posted a profane rant about Handel on Facebook on June 8, following her comments in a debate with Ossoff about a “livable wage.”

On her Facebook page, Handel said that she was “aware that the suspect recently made vile comments about me on social media. . .

“We should not allow our political differences to escalate to violent attacks. We must all refuse to allow the politics of our country to be defined in this way. . . . It is incumbent upon all of us to work together in a civil and productive way, even when we disagree.”