Mail bomb to Locke intercepted

OLYMPIA — A letter rigged to ignite when opened was sent to Gov. Gary Locke, but the State Patrol intercepted it and opened it safely on Thursday.

Similar letters were sent to the governors of Montana, Idaho, Nebraska and Utah. All appeared to come from a maximum security prison in Ely, Nev.

Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Nelsa Brodie said the envelope contained two matches and two blank, folded pieces of paper, arranged so the matches would strike and ignite the paper when someone opened the envelope.

The letter raised suspicions when mailroom workers in Gov. Locke’s office felt something hard in the letter and noticed the envelope had been taped shut, Brodie said. They brought it to a security officer in the governor’s office, who took the letter to the State Patrol.

State Patrol troopers opened the envelope from the other end so the matches didn’t ignite, Brodie said. She said there was no writing on the paper and no other potentially explosive material inside. The FBI was investigating.

Glen Whorton, assistant director for the Nevada Corrections Department, said another letter also turned up at the office of the Nevada state corrections director.

Whorton said two inmates whose names are on the envelopes are being questioned at the maximum-security prison in eastern Nevada. He also said authorities aren’t sure if the inmates sent the letters or if someone else put their names on the envelopes. He declined to identify them.

Staff members in the governors’ offices in Montana, Idaho and Nebraska opened the envelopes, and the letters caught fire. After that officials sent out a nationwide alert to governors’ offices. In Utah, a bomb squad was called to handle the envelope.

No one was injured, though part of the Montana state Capitol was evacuated.