Convicted sex offender accused of sending Democrats mystery white powder with chilling 'enjoy the gift' note

Convicted sex offender accused of sending Democrats mystery white powder with chilling 'enjoy the gift' note Court records show a 37-year-old Illinois man is charged with sending threatening letters to members of Congress containing a white powder, including one with a note reading “HAH enjoy the gift.” - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A man from Illinois faces federal charges after letters containing a white powder were sent to four Democratic members of Congress, one of them carrying a note that read “HAH enjoy the gift,” according to court records. The criminal complaint, unsealed on Monday, alleges that Matthew Unglesbee sent at least four plain white envelopes containing a powdery substance to elected officials in Chicago. Each envelope was postmarked in Springfield, Illinois, on Oct. 19. Unglesbee’s name was handwritten in the return address section of the envelopes. The 37-year-old, who is from Quincy in southwestern Illinois, is charged with mailing threatening communications and perpetrating a hoax. He appeared in court on Monday afternoon. The letters were sent to U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Earlier this month, suspicious substances were also sent to the offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Democrat Alex Padilla. Officials have not charged Unglesbee in relation to those incidents. The suspect has previous convictions for sexually assaulting a minor, violating sex offender registry laws, and threatening a public official, reports NBC Chicago. Despite his targets being Democrats, multiple Facebook videos show Unglesbee railing against President Donald Trump and urging people to vote against Republicans in the upcoming midterms, the station also reported. Court records did not list a defense attorney. Investigators could not find a phone number for Unglesbee, and a Facebook message sent to a Matthew Unglesbee in Quincy was not immediately returned. FBI agents interviewed Ungelsbee at his home on Sunday. Court records show he told them all the letters contained salt. He claimed he had sent the letters after hearing someone talk about similar mailings in the news earlier this month in a restaurant. Testing confirmed the white substance was not dangerous. The records did not identify the substance. A motive was unclear. But the complaint says Unglesbee told investigators he knew the congress members would “take it seriously” because the powder might be perceived as anthrax. According to the complaint, he knew anthrax was dangerous and could prompt a hazmat response. “Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognized the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat,” the complaint stated. Investigators said none of the recipients opened the letters. Records show the most recent envelope was received on Oct. 23 at a U.S. senator's office. It contained a white powdery substance and a handwritten note reading “HAH enjoy the gift,” according to the documents. “You can imagine what it's like for a staff person to grab the envelopes, the mail, and a big puff of powder comes up... We're in a climate where threats and intimidation like this have become normalized,” Quigley said after the arrest.