A suspicious package addressed to “Anne Thrax” at the building where Rep. Maxine Waters’ has her district offices was examined on Tuesday by the Los Angeles Fire Department and found to pose no hazard.
Parts of the LA office building were evacuated and a HazMat crew removed the package to check for hazardous materials, according to a notice from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Time reported.
There were no reported injuries, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Rep. Waters, a Democrat, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and has been criticized for calling for Trump administration officials to be harassed in public.
After White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va. because employees didn’t want to serve her, Waters (D-Calif.) told supporters at a June 23 rally in Los Angeles that the Trump administration and its defenders should expect the protests to continue.
Waters was responding to anger over immigration policies that led to the separation of undocumented migrant families at the border:
“For these members of his Cabinet who remain and try to defend (Trump), they’re not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they’re not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they’re not going to be able to shop [at] a department store. The people are going to turn on them, they’re going to protest, they’re going to absolutely harass them,” Waters said.
Waters has received threats over her comments. In June, she canceled two events after getting threatening messages and “hostile mail” at her office, CNN reported. She blames Trump for making threats of his own:
“As the President has continued to lie and falsely claim that I encouraged people to assault his supporters, while also offering a veiled threat that I should ‘be careful,’ even more individuals are leaving (threatening) messages and sending hostile mail to my office,” she said in a June statement.
“There was one very serious death threat made against me on Monday from an individual in Texas which is why my planned speaking engagements in Texas and Alabama were cancelled this weekend,” the statement continued. “This is just one in several very serious threats the United States Capitol Police are investigating in which individuals threatened to shoot, lynch, or cause me serious bodily harm.”
LAPD spokesman Mike Lopez said the department would open an investigation into the incident.
“There was no evidence of any dangerous substance at all,” Lopez said. “They’re probably going to investigate to see where this item came from.”
Rep. Maxine Waters evacuates office after allegedly receiving Anthrax package https://t.co/RjnU3PvDYL pic.twitter.com/Qavsw6KavE
— The Source Magazine (@TheSource) July 25, 2018
Probably one of Trump's very fine people. pic.twitter.com/r8TmfU8HMy
— Grandmaster B (@rc213) July 24, 2018
Scary times people. The crahkahs are out and about in full attack mode.
— numbnuts KBay 1st MEB….orahh! (@echoaxle) July 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/marvc88/status/1021966642354561026
Because if I really wanted to poison you, I would write it on the outside of the package.
Trumptards is smart.— T. Filson Rogers (@tfilson59) July 25, 2018
@politico they better not be coming after @RepMaxineWaters
— Rumira Stephen (@HotCurryPie) July 25, 2018
The Birther King’s racist goons like the White Supremacist who randomly attacked those sisters because they were black are just following his orders.
— ConcreteWallflower (@Me75327714) July 25, 2018
Ms13 strikes again!
— Millerolioni (@millerolioni) July 25, 2018
I’m so sorry this happened. Trying to shut up Waters is not going to happen!
— Lea Francis (@Lcgfrancis55Lea) July 25, 2018