Anthrax Threat HITS Congress

Red sign with the word threats against sky — Photo: Shutterstock

A Quincy, Illinois man allegedly mailed salt disguised as anthrax to four congressional offices, then told agents he did it because he knew lawmakers would take it seriously.

Story Snapshot

Matthew Unglesbee, of Quincy, faces federal charges for mailing hoax letters with a white substance to Illinois congressional offices.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) says a criminal complaint was unsealed October 26, charging him under laws covering threatening communications and hoaxes.
Investigators say the substance tested as harmless and was identified as salt, not a biological agent.
Unglesbee allegedly admitted mailing the letters and said he picked salt because it looks like anthrax.

What The Criminal Complaint Alleges

Federal prosecutors in the Central District of Illinois charged Unglesbee with mailing threatening communications and perpetrating a hoax, citing federal statutes that cover both offenses. The complaint says at least four letters went to congressional offices in the Chicago area, each containing a white powdery or granular substance tucked inside plain envelopes. Three of the letters reportedly carried a handwritten note reading “HA HA.” A fourth said “HAH enjoy the gift”.

Those notes gave investigators a clear window into intent, even before lab results came back. Taunting language paired with a mystery powder is exactly the combination federal law treats as a hoax meant to frighten, whether or not real danger exists. Congressional staff do not get to guess which envelopes are jokes, so offices treated each one as a potential biological threat until proven otherwise.

How Investigators Say They Identified Him

The envelopes allegedly made the case easier to build than most. According to NBC News, the four pieces of mail included Unglesbee’s name and home address written in the return-address spot. The Hill reported that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel found that same identifying information during their response. Leaving a return address on a hoax mailing is an unusual move, and it gave agents a direct lead to follow almost immediately.

Lab testing reportedly confirmed the substance posed no danger. The Chicago Tribune said material from one letter came back as salt. The Hill reported the same conclusion, noting the white granular material was later identified as salt even though it triggered Federal Bureau of Investigation responses at congressional offices when first discovered. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, an FBI affidavit says Unglesbee admitted mailing the four letters and told agents he chose salt specifically because it resembled anthrax.

A Familiar Hoax With A Long And Costly History

White-powder scares are not new. The 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people reshaped how authorities treat any suspicious letter, and copycat hoaxes followed for years afterward. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated roughly 2,500 anthrax-related reports in 2002 alone, and the bureau logged close to 1,000 separate white-powder events between 2007 and early 2009, even as the annual case count eventually dropped into the low hundreds.

An Illinois man, Matthew G. Unglesbee, is facing federal charges for allegedly sending threatening letters containing a white substance to four members of Congress. https://t.co/vfK0SB6ReA

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 27, 2026

Each of those cases forced the same costly response: hazmat teams, building evacuations, and anxious staff waiting on lab results that almost always came back negative. That gap between fear and actual danger is the entire point of a hoax charge. Lawmakers’ offices cannot afford to assume a white powder is harmless, which means even a prank built from table salt can shut down a congressional office for hours and tie up federal resources meant for real emergencies.

What Comes Next In The Case

A criminal complaint is an accusation, not a conviction, and the Department of Justice said specific details remained limited shortly after the complaint was unsealed. Unglesbee still faces the legal process ahead, including arraignment and any pretrial motions his defense may file. Reporting also notes he denied involvement in similar letters sent to lawmakers outside Illinois, distancing himself from any broader wave of mailings while facing the charges tied directly to his own alleged return address.

The case lands at a moment when threats against elected officials already draw heavy scrutiny from both parties. Whether the letters were meant as a dark joke or something more calculated, the response from law enforcement shows how seriously any mailed substance aimed at Congress gets treated now. That seriousness exists precisely because the anthrax era taught federal agencies that waiting to find out is not an option they can afford to take.