FBI to Test Letter With White Powder Sent to CAIR D.C. Office

UPDATED: Dec. 10, 2015 6:09 p.m.

WASHINGTON – The Capitol Hill office for the Council on American-Islamic Relations was evacuated Thursday due to a “foreign substance” received in the mail.

The envelope was opened Thursday afternoon at the headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations near the U.S. Capitol. The group’s spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, says initial testing showed the substance was not harmful. Hooper says the envelope also contained a “hate message.”

FBI spokesman Andrew Ames says the bureau has taken possession of the letter, which is standard in such cases.

The office of the Muslim advocacy group was temporarily evacuated except for staffers who had come into contact with the substance.

Maha Sayed, a staff attorney for CAIR, released the following statement:

“We receive hate messages daily because of our advocacy on behalf of the American ‪#‎Muslim‬ community. It’s frightening to experience the hate manifest itself to such a real level. This will not deter us from continuing to protect the civil rights and liberties of all Americans.”

Police in Washington confirmed they were investigating a suspicious package that was reported at the address for CAIR.

CAIR recently denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering America.

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