A Quincy man has been charged in federal court in Springfield with sending a series of threatening letters to Congress members in Chicago containing a white powder, including one with a message saying “HAH enjoy the gift,” court records show.
Matthew Unglesbee, 37, of Quincy, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court with mailing threatening communications and perpetrating a hoax. He’s scheduled to have an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon in Springfield. The docket did not list a lawyer for Unglesbee.
According to the eight-page complaint, Unglesbee mailed at least four letters containing a white powdery substance that were received by federal elected officials in Chicago. All of the letters were postmarked in Springfield on Oct. 19 and were in plain white envelopes and had handwritten addresses and Unglesbee’s name in the return address area.
The most recent letter arrived on Friday at the office of a U.S. senator, according to the complaint. The envelope also contained a white powdery substance and a handwritten note reading “HAH enjoy the gift,” the complaint stated.
When federal agents went to interview Unglesbee at his home on Sunday, he told them all of the letters contained salt. He said he’d sent the letters after hearing about similar mailings on the news earlier this month. He said he knew the recipients would “take it serious” and have hazmat teams respond because “anthrax is dangerous,” the complaint stated.
“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.
When agents searched his home, they found a fifth envelope addressed to another Congressperson’s Washington D.C. office, according to the complaint.
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None of the Congresspersons are named in the complaint, but several have gone public about receiving the letters, including Chicago Democrat Mike Quigley. Last week, Quigley said in a statement that his office has received a second suspicious package and notified Chicago police and U.S. Capitol Police.
“This is clearly another effort to scare and intimidate elected officials, public servants, and voters in the lead-up to the coming midterm elections,” Quigley said. “I am again calling on my colleagues and political leaders on both sides of the aisle to condemn political violence in the strongest of terms and turn down the temperature of political discourse.”
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky also publicly stated last week her office had received suspicious mailings and that they prompted a hazardous materials response.
“We worked with the Skokie Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police to respond to the situation,” Schakowsky said in a statement. “…My team and I will not be deterred.”