An envelope containing white powder mailed to John McCain’s Denver headquarters prompted the evacuation of the building Thursday, according to news reports, and a second envelope mailed to a New Hampshire office prompted similar fears. Both envelopes reportedly had a Colorado jail listed as the return address.
 
The McCain campaign released this statement this morning about Thursday’s events:

At approximately 3pm Mountain time, a McCain staff member in Denver opened an envelope that contained a threatening letter and an unknown white powder. As a precautionary measure, the campaign office was immediately closed and staff was sent to a local hospital for medical evaluation. Local authorities as well as the FBI and United States Secret Service have investigated the scene and determined that the substance poses no threat.



Also yesterday afternoon, a similar letter was found in the campaign’s Manchester, New Hampshire office. After closing that office, the Manchester Police Department determined that there was no threat.



Senator and Mrs. McCain thank the local and federal authorities for their swift response and will continue to monitor the situation closely.



–McCain 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker

 
According to The New York Times Caucus blog:
 
Police have … traced the envelope that contained the substance, as well as a generic threat, to an inmate at a Colorado detention center, Marc Harold Ramsey. Mr. Ramsey, 39, has been jailed since September of last year on charges of felony menacing, harassment and second degree assault on a police officer.


Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service, described Mr. Ramsey as a “prolific letter writer.”