Scene outside CNN NY HQ right now. #NYPD Bomb squad here. @CNNnewsroom pic.twitter.com/avUVaSKDRu
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 24, 2018
Reports are coming in that as of Wednesday morning, the homes of Barack and Michelle Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, along with CNN’s New York City headquarters, were all sent packages containing explosive devices. Initial reports claimed that the White House had also received a suspicious package but have since been debunked. The news comes on the heels of billionaire investor and Democratic donor George Soros being mailed a similar suspicious package on Monday.
NBC News: Here's what we know so far
– The packages are manila in color.
– The packages have similar or identical components.
– The packages all have a return address belonging to a prominent democratic official (we are not naming that person at this time in the investigation).— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) October 24, 2018
United States Secret Service has put out a statement regarding the devices, which apparently were all capable of exploding and bodily causing harm:
The U.S. Secret Service has intercepted two suspicious packages addressed to Secret Service protectees.
Late on October 23, 2018, the Secret Service recovered a single package addressed to Former First Lady Hillary Clinton in Westchester County, New York. Early this morning, October 24, 2018, a second package addressed to Former President Barack Obama was intercepted by Secret Service personnel in Washington, DC.
The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.
The Secret Service has initiated a full scope criminal investigation that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources to determine the source of the packages and identify those responsible.
The Time Warner Center, where CNN broadcasts from, was evacuated Wednesday morning live on-air while delivering the news of packages sent to the Clintons and Obamas, and they have since been reporting live from outside on 58th Street.
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1055102161661636608
Pushing us back further pic.twitter.com/fK5bntJ6ao
— Kate Bolduan (@KateBolduan) October 24, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement condemning the attempted attacks, which seemingly very may well have been inspired by the rhetoric of her boss, President Donald Trump.
“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”
Update: U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has also reportedly received a similar package:
#BREAKING — via @CBSMiami — Sunrise Police Department confirms an office building has been evacuated due to suspicious package in the mail. It’s the same building where the office of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is located
— j.d. durkin (@jd_durkin) October 24, 2018
More is sure to come from this story as details further develop.