Oklahoma man charged with mailing powder letters to officials before elections

Federal prosecutors have charged an Oklahoma man with mailing hundreds of letters stuffed with white powder to public officials in the run-up to the 2024 and 2026 elections. Robin Martin faces counts of conveying a hoax and mailing threatening communications, according to a court filing the FBI made public Tuesday. He was expected to appear in an Oklahoma City courtroom Tuesday afternoon. Online records don't list an attorney who could speak for him.

The scare turned out to be mostly pantry staples. The FBI says the powders were yeast or flour — though not every letter has been fully tested yet. So hundreds of envelopes that set off alarms from Capitol Hill to local election offices carried nothing hazardous at all, per the filing.

It wasn't until last month that federal authorities went public with the investigation, saying letters holding 'suspicious substances' had landed at congressional and election offices across the country. They told recipients to treat the mail as 'potentially hazardous.'

Behind the scenes, the scramble was real. A message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms obtained by The Associated Press said law enforcement was trying to intercept any more letters on the way, but warned that 'it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.'

The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were both on the case, the bureau said at the time. On Tuesday, the FBI pushed questions to the U.S. attorney's office, and the Postal Inspection Service didn't immediately return an email from the AP seeking comment.

The timing stands out: the mailings hit ahead of two straight election cycles, targeting the offices and officials who run them. With Martin now in custody and headed to court, investigators haven't said what comes next.