US Muslim advocacy group building evacuated in US over ‘threat’
Police in Washington DC evacuate the headquarters of a US Muslim rights and advocacy group after it received what is described as a threat in mail.
A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has said the evacuation happened on Thursday when a staff member opened an envelope and a white powder moved out of it.
CAIR says its personnel came in contact with the envelope which also contained a message referring to a "painful death."
CAIR, which tracks discrimination against Muslims, posted an update online saying, "Preliminary field tests indicate the substance is not dangerous, letter is now in the hands of the FBI for more extensive tests and investigation."
Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's National Communications Director, said people who came in contact with the powder were quarantined inside the building.
The group has received death threats in the past, said Hooper, but he told US media that "they've increased tremendously since the Paris attacks, the San Bernardino killings, and the Donald Trump statements."
Trump kicked up a political firestorm on Monday by proposing a “total and complete” ban on all Muslims entering the United States.
The comments, the most extreme response yet to recent terrorist attacks in France and the US, drew strong condemnation at home and abroad.
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