Rep. Allen West 'deeply disturbed' by white powder, insulting letter found at Boca office


3:57 p.m. EDT, April 8, 2011

BOCA RATON— A campaign worker picking up mail for U.S. Rep. Allen West opened an envelope Friday and found a suspicious white powder inside and an insulting letter to the congressman, according to his chief of staff.

The letter, which made derogatory statements toward West, also mentioned the anthrax, his Chief of Staff Jonathan Blythe said in a statement.

The campaign worker had picked up the letter at at P.O. Box in Deerfield Beach and opened it at West's campaign headquarters at 2108 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton.

Local and federal authorities are now investigating the incident, which Blythe said has "deeply disturbed" West.

About a dozen fire engines and police cars surrounded his campaign office while hazardous materials handlers tested the powder.

"Right now we don't know what [the powder] is, we're checking it out," Fire-Rescue spokesman Frank Correggio said.

West's office was roped off, while other shops in the Fifth Avenue Shops plaza remained open.

Health workers on the scene will take the powder to a Miami lab if it appears to be a live organism, said Palm Beach County Health Department spokesman Tim O'Connor.

West's two congressional offices in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are on high alert regarding incoming mail.

"I thoroughly condemn this act which does nothing but evidence the sick and deranged nature of the perpetrator," West said in a statement released Friday afternoon. "I will continue to serve the constituents of Florida's Congressional District 22 with honor and integrity."

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