Donald Trump Jr. — one of his father’s top campaign surrogates — checked his mail Monday in his home office, and he found a letter containing a white powder and a death threat.
Emergency crews in hazmat suits were photographed outside Trump Jr.’s home in Jupiter, Florida, and officials taken the death threat seriously.
Officials tested the white powder, and they found inconclusive results, according to a statement from Trump Jr.’s spokesperson. However, the officials don’t suspect the substance to be deadly.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office is teaming with the U.S. Secret Service to investigate the incident, the sheriff’s office told the Associated Press.
The Jupiter Police Department has remained silent on the ongoing investigation, and so has the Secret Service.
Trump Jr. has dealt with these scares before. In 2018, his then-wife, Vanessa, was hospitalized after opening a letter addressed to her husband, containing a white powder. Police later described the substance as harmless.
“It’s just become a little bit too commonplace that this sort of stuff happens,” Trump Jr. told The Daily Caller.
“This is actually the second white powder substance envelope that’s been mailed to me. The last time we had this happen, it was during my father’s presidency and my then-wife opened it up with my kids by her side. So, it’s just sad that we live in a society where politics and the left’s hatred of my father would drive people to do such crazy things, but that’s where we are unfortunately.”
Take a look at these photos from the scene —
🚨 Donald Trump Jr. was sent a threatening letter with white powder on it, causing a hazmat unit to rush to his house…https://t.co/0QeM6eZHdg pic.twitter.com/TX6eDhnmLX
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 27, 2024
Other members of the Trump family have suffered these hoaxes, too.
In 2016, the former president’s campaign headquarters received two envelopes with white powder. In March of that year, his son Eric Trump received another. Police ruled out any danger from Eric’s envelope.
In other words, the Trump dynasty has seen a string of hoaxes recalling the 2001 anthrax attack. That year, several news organizations received letters containing anthrax, a deadly bacterium. Two U.S. senators — one Democrat and one Republican — received similar letters. All in all, five people died, and 17 more were injured. The attacker’s motive remains unknown.
“Clearly, if this happened to a prominent Democrat it wouldn’t be tolerated and would drive news coverage for weeks. The media would blame all Republicans and force them to answer for it, But since it’s me, radical haters on the left will largely get a free pass and the media will barely flinch,” Trump Jr. continued.
Trump Jr. has become a recognizable fixture of his father’s campaign, often headlining events.
He’s also made headlines lately for his role in New York state’s lawsuit against his father’s business. As part of the ruling, Trump Jr. has been temporarily banned from serving as an officer of any New York company. The former president appealed the ruling Monday.
Speaking to the Daily Caller, Trump Jr. concluded, “It doesn’t matter what your politics are, this type of crap is unacceptable.”
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.