The material in the suspicious package at U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson’s office in DeKalb County on Thursday turned out to be tea bags, the FBI said Friday.
The package was discovered about 11 a.m. by a staff member who was opening mail in Johnson's office in Lithonia. DeKalb fire and hazardous materials teams were summoned, and the office was evacuated. An "all-clear" signal was given about 1 p.m.
There was no return address on the envelope, and no threat associated with the letter, agent Stephen Emmett of the FBI’s Atlanta office said. Johnson was not in the office at the time.
Emmett also said that the FBI is aware of a trend among some Tea Party associates to mail tea bags to congressional staffers as a form of protest.
“It would be very unfortunate” if this was the case, Emmett said, noting that the incident at Johnson’s office “consumed a lot of taxpayer resources.”
The material has been sent to the Georgia public health lab for further analysis.
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