Allen West's Office Receives Letter Containing White Powder

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Authorities say a white powder found in a letter sent to a Florida congressman is not anthrax.

Boca Raton Fire Rescue spokesman Frank Correggio says no dangerous substance was found at the office of Republican Allen West on Friday.

West's chief of staff says the letter contained derogatory comments about the politician and contained the word anthrax. He says the letter was opened by a campaign staffer.

West is a freshman congressman and tea party favorite who swept incumbent Rep. Ron Klein from office. West was in Washington when the letter was opened.

He says in a news release he is deeply disturbed by the incident.

Comments

[canarypapers]

11:50 AM on 04/13/2011

I think the GOP's faux-anthrax-letter ploy pretty much ran its course in the fall of two-double-aught-one, leading up the passage of the USA Patriot Act.

Get with the program, West. Fear of the bogeyman is so passe. If you want to incite the masses to shoot themselves in the foot, you'll need to stick with the teabag party script. Get your base all scared-up and angry at REAL things: Medicare, Social Security, unemployment benefits, food stamps, public schools, public radio, fire and police protection, mass transit, unions, the census, anything-big-gubberment, their neighbors, their own shadows.....

[OIF2009]

11:08 PM on 04/25/2011

If it were any other republican I would assume it a false flag. West is a real man, something no political party has seen in countless decades. You have to consider just how many people might want to kill something that strange and alien.

[chancetay]

04:41 PM on 04/11/2011

Now, doesn't he know that is illegal????

[Duppy]

04:23 PM on 04/11/2011

who cares !

[KaAp]

04:17 PM on 04/11/2011

He may be deeply disturbed by the incident, but, the citizens of Florida are deeply disturbed by how deeply disturbed Allen West is.

[jonnai]

03:55 PM on 04/11/2011

I bet he tried to snort it first.

[De Jenkins]

04:38 PM on 04/11/2011

LOL I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking it was cocaine, and not antrax being that it was Florida. LOL

[blukazoo]

03:53 PM on 04/11/2011

Someone was returning his lost coke?

[SeenItBefore]

03:46 PM on 04/11/2011

Let's see, a Johnny One Note freshman politician. An old scare technique gets dusted off. Some corn starch get slipped into a self-addressed envelope. A 44 cent stamp assures office panic and a call to local authorities about 'suspicious white powder'.

Shazzam!!! Allen West gets national headlines for less than 50 cents!

Yah gotta love 'em!

[RageAgainstTheNeoCons]

03:32 PM on 04/11/2011

Yea right. And if you pull this other leg it plays Jingle Bells.

[mrspiffy]

03:13 PM on 04/11/2011

Maybe the cocayine?

[StopMakingSense2]

02:37 PM on 04/11/2011

It's cheaper to mail drugs than deliver them. What's the surprise? If security just hadn't caught it would have been a blow out party weekend...

[Chauncey1186]

02:24 PM on 04/11/2011

Would that be the unionized Boca Raton Fire Rescue by any chance?

Sure hope Mr. West remembers to thank those fine union folks who took care of his staff and office.

[Gregj]

02:17 PM on 04/11/2011

Could it be Koch? Wisconsin

[nini516]

02:05 PM on 04/11/2011

I don't believe this one. Looking for sympathy in politics.

[cave mann35]

01:43 PM on 04/11/2011

I'm saddened that someone felt strongly enough to try to shut up the freshman rep from Florida!

[edwcorey]

01:37 PM on 04/11/2011

It was his crack.