Mail to governor ignites when opened

BOISE – A letter postmarked from a prison in Ely, Nev., to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne ignited Thursday when it was opened in the Capitol.

It caused no disruption beyond a brief moment of surprise for some staff members.

Kempthorne spokesman Michael Journee said the envelope contained a blank sheet of paper rigged so that a match held inside it would strike when it was removed from the envelope.

“When the mail guy here opened it, that’s what happened, and then the match went out,” Journee said.

The matter was turned over to Idaho State Police investigators.

The envelope was apparently similar to ones received Thursday by governor’s offices in other states, including Washington, Montana, Utah and Nebraska. All appeared to come from a maximum security prison in Ely, Nev.

In Helena, Mont., the letter also contained a fuse and small plastic bag that authorities initially feared could be an explosive. Parts of the Capitol were evacuated, but a preliminary investigation found no evidence of an explosive.

In Washington, a letter rigged to ignite when opened was sent to Gov. Gary Locke , but the State Patrol intercepted it and opened it safely.

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 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.