A leading Muslim organisation in the U.S. has evacuated its headquarters in Washington after the discovery of a “suspicious” substance in the post.
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Members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) were evacuated from their office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, after receiving a letter containing “white powder”, the group said.
Later Thursday afternoon, employees were given the all-clear to return. The letter was described as hate mail.
The organisation announced later on Thursday through its social media accounts that the preliminary field tests indicated the substance was not unsafe.
Firefighters set up a decontamination area in front of one of their trucks, complete with bleach and dish soap on the ground nearby.
Police and emergency personnel responded to the scene.
Maha Sayed, civil rights staff attorney of CAIR, said on the organisation’s Facebook that despite being accustamed to the threats, it was frightening to experience “the hate manifest itself to such a real level”.
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and Communication Director Ibrahim Hooper gave an update to the press following the evacuation.
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CAIR recently denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering America.
