Matthew Unglesbee mailed salt to four members of Congress. That is the allegation, anyway, and a Quincy, Illinois, man now faces federal charges over white powder letters sent to lawmakers with Chicago-area offices. His reported excuse is the part that should worry everyone: it was a joke.
According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release, agents arrested him Oct. 25 after executing a search warrant. Prosecutors unsealed the complaint Monday, and a judge scheduled him for an initial court appearance in Springfield. DOJ lists his age as 36, though some outlets say 37.
Prosecutors charge Unglesbee under two federal laws: mailing threatening communications and false information and hoaxes. Because this is a federal complaint, these are allegations. He has not been convicted, and AP reports that court records did not list a defense attorney.
The complaint describes at least four plain white envelopes with his name handwritten as the return address. The first three held a white granular substance and a note reading “HA HA.” The fourth, reported two days later, read “HAH enjoy the gift.” Investigators recovered that one Oct. 23 from a congressional office in northern Illinois.
According to FBI Chicago personnel, no recipient opened a letter. Still, the response was real. A staffer at one Chicago office felt powder and heard something rattling inside the envelope, so the office isolated it, cleared the area and called 911. Hazmat teams responded to at least two offices. Rep. Robin Kelly said one of her district offices received a suspicious envelope, and her staff then contacted local police and U.S. Capitol Police.
The tip that cracked the hoax letters case
The case did not start with a sophisticated investigation. WGEM reports it began Oct. 16 with an anonymous tip to the FBI. The tipster said they overheard Unglesbee at a restaurant saying he had mailed a substance to members of Congress.
Agents then interviewed him at his home. He told them all the letters contained salt and that he sent them after hearing about similar mailings in the news. Per the complaint, he knew the recipients would “take it serious” because they might perceive the powder as anthrax. AP quotes the complaint saying he claimed he was joking but recognized the recipients would not know that. Agents also found a fifth, empty, unmailed envelope addressed to a congressional office in Washington, D.C.
Preliminary testing by the Illinois State Laboratory Response Network found no chemical or biological toxins, NewsNation reports.
Why a salt powder hoax is still a serious crime
Here’s the thing: a harmless powder does not make a harmless letter. At the Chicago office where the staffer felt the rattling envelope, workers had to clear the area and call 911. Prosecutors note that lookalike powder is a common intimidation tactic whether or not it is toxic.
The timing adds weight, with the midterms only days away and federal authorities already investigating suspicious-substance letters mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide, according to a Senate Sergeant at Arms message AP obtained Oct. 15. ABC7 describes this case as an apparent copycat, and the complaint says news of other mailings inspired him. So far, no source ties him to those earlier letters. He denied involvement, and investigators have not identified that sender.
What happens next
Expect a grand jury indictment or a preliminary hearing, then an arraignment. As of publication, there were no reports on whether he stays in custody or goes free, or whether he gets a court-appointed lawyer. His “joke” claim is his own account to agents, and no court has tested it.
The key open question is whether investigators ever connect Quincy to the nationwide mailings, or whether this was one man copying what he saw on the news. For more on the political stakes, see the early House races to watch on election night.
