Matthew Unglesbee, 36, of Quincy, Illinois, was arrested and held in federal custody on charges of perpetrating a hoax and sending threatening communications through the mail. According to court filings, Unglesbee allegedly sent letters containing white powder to four members of Congress representing districts in northern Illinois.
The envelopes bore Unglesbee’s name and home address in Quincy. Each letter contained a white granular substance that the suspect identified as salt, which he stated he chose because it “kind of looks like” anthrax. The written messages in the envelopes included phrases such as “ha ha” and “Hah enjoy the gift.” Preliminary testing found no biological or chemical toxins present in the materials. None of the congressional staff members opened the envelopes, as the offices had alerted one another to watch for mailings from Unglesbee’s address.
According to the criminal complaint, Unglesbee told investigators he sent the letters after hearing someone in a restaurant reference news coverage of other suspicious mailings. The FBI and US Postal Inspection Service were investigating multiple reports of suspicious letters sent to state officials and election offices across the country earlier in October. Unglesbee denied involvement in those other incidents. He allegedly told authorities that he anticipated the recipients would take the matter seriously and believed they might perceive the substance as anthrax, which he acknowledged knowing was dangerous and would likely trigger hazmat team responses.
When FBI agents visited Unglesbee’s residence, they discovered an additional empty envelope addressed to one of the same congressional members’ Washington office that had not been sent. The suspect reportedly claimed he was joking but recognized that the recipients would not understand this and could interpret the mailing as a threat.
The FBI’s Springfield field office emphasized in a statement that authorities were committed to protecting public institutions from intimidation, noting that such mailings create disruption and fear in democratic systems. Unglesbee was scheduled for a detention hearing in federal court in Springfield.
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