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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Post office evacuated over letter

Hazardous materials workers enter the downtown post office in Spokane on Thursday. Officials evacuated the building after an envelope containing a suspicious substance was found on the second floor. The envelope was mailed by a prisoner to a judge and contained a threatening note, authorities say. (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
By Jody Lawrence-Turner jodyl@spokesman.com(509) 459-5593
Hazardous materials workers enter the downtown post office in Spokane on Thursday. Officials evacuated the building after an envelope containing a suspicious substance was found on the second floor. The envelope was mailed by a prisoner to a judge and contained a threatening note, authorities say. (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

A Florida inmate’s letter to a Spokane federal court member caused the evacuation of the downtown post office and triggered a response from the Spokane Fire Department’s hazardous material team.

But the blood stains on the letter and its threatening words turned out to be more alarming than the white powder, which testing showed was nothing more than a harmless compound commonly found in antacids.

A postal worker inspecting federal mail opened the letter Thursday morning to find the threatening, blood-stained letter and a white substance folded into a piece of tissue paper, said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Eric Marks. The letter was disjointed, but officials could make out “contaminated” and “take a deep breath” or “breathe.”

The post office was evacuated as a precaution, and the hazardous material team entered to test the suspicious substance.

Florida inmate Michael Beavers is listed as the sender, Marks said. Beavers is in prison on state charges out of Florida for sending similar letters. He faces federal charges when he is released. Marks said federal investigators plan to contact the U.S. attorney’s office to consider charges for the Spokane incident.