The Secret Service said Wednesday that “potential explosive devices” were addressed to former President Barack Obama and ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
In a statement, the Secret Service said that the package addressed to Obama was intercepted by agency personnel in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning.
“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” Assistant Special Agent Mason Brayman said in the statement. “The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”
“The Secret Service has initiated a full scope criminal investigation that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources to determine the source of the packages and identify those responsible,” Brayman added.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the Trump administration condemns the “terrorizing acts” against Obama, the Clintons and “other public figures”:
“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the packages and is taking the situation “extremely seriously,” a senior White House official said.
