OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, Nov. 4, 2026 — A 67-year-old Oklahoma City man is charged with mailing hundreds of threatening letters, many containing white powder, to state election offices, members of Congress, the FBI and others in the weeks before Tuesday's election, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Robin Patrick Martin is charged with conveying false or misleading information and hoaxes and with mailing threatening communications, according to the department's announcement. He made his first court appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shon Erwin in Oklahoma City. The powder was later found to be non-hazardous, the department said.
A complaint is only an allegation. Martin is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What prosecutors say happened
On Oct. 13, the Oklahoma State Election Board told the FBI it had received a threatening letter containing white powder, the Justice Department said. The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service had been investigating similar letters sent to state election officials, including that board, since 2024.
According to the criminal complaint, filed Nov. 1 in federal court in Oklahoma, investigators linked more than 700 mailings to the same sender. They were processed through postal centers in Oklahoma City on Oct. 9, North Texas on Oct. 10 and San Antonio on Oct. 13.
The complaint says the letters went to state election boards, Republican, Democratic and independent members of Congress, pollsters, media organizations and the FBI. "Based on laboratory results to date, none of the powders were deemed hazardous," an FBI agent wrote in the sworn statement. The powders have been identified as yeast or flour, though not every letter has been intercepted or fully tested.
Postal inspectors recovered most of the mailings before they reached the people they were addressed to, Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale said in the Justice Department's release.
The Florida connection
The complaint includes a photo of one of the 2026 letters, addressed to a media organization in Miami and mailed through the Oklahoma City processing center. It doesn't name the outlet.
Investigators also tied Martin to an earlier batch from 2024. Around Sept. 16, 2024, election officials in several states reported getting mail with white powder and a three-page letter, according to the complaint. Investigators found similar mailings addressed to election officials in all 50 states and collected 49 of them. Postal inspectors identified one addressed to Florida's state election officials but never found it, the complaint says.
The complaint says the 2024 letters called the sender a "top-secret military organization," claimed President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, listed five demands and warned that a future mailing "won't be flour next time." Testing found the powder in each 2024 mailing was non-toxic, the complaint says. It says some 2026 letters to members of Congress and election boards read "CIVIL WAR IS COMING ON NOVEMBER 3RD!!"
The complaint lays out how investigators say they connected the letters to Martin, including an email account, handwriting comparisons, license-plate reader records and phone location data. A formal forensic handwriting comparison was still pending when it was filed.
What officials said
"As alleged, Martin mailed letters containing white powder to hundreds of state and federal officials, a calculated attempt to terrorize public servants," said John A. Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general for national security. "These officials were left to open those letters not knowing if the powder inside could sicken or even kill them, and that was the evident intent."
"Threatening election officials and attempting to intimidate public servants is a serious federal offense and will not be tolerated," said Robert J. Troester, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI arrested Martin early Monday and that the letters went to "well over 100 locations including multiple state secretary offices, election offices, and more." Patel said Martin "had avoided authorities until now – as the Biden administration failed to catch him."
"No one should have to wonder whether a letter in the mail poses a danger," said Doug Goodwater, special agent in charge of the FBI's Oklahoma City office. U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said, "We will not tolerate anyone who attempts to use fear as a weapon."
The case is part of a White House-directed initiative under National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 that's aimed at targeting political violence while protecting First Amendment rights, the department said. The FBI, the Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Capitol Police, Oklahoma City police and the Texas Department of Public Safety, including the Texas Rangers, investigated.
Why it matters on Election Day
Starting Oct. 13, FBI field offices around the country carried out Weapons of Mass Destruction responses at places that got the letters, according to the complaint. The FBI agent wrote that it's reasonable for someone who gets a letter with white powder to fear it holds anthrax or another toxin, citing past anthrax mailings to government agencies.
Goodwater said the mailings "created unnecessary fear, diverted resources, and attempted to disrupt our nation's democratic process."
If you get a suspicious letter
If you think you've received a suspicious package, the Postal Inspection Service says to isolate it, keep a safe distance, wash your hands and immediately call postal inspectors at 1-877-876-2455 and say "emergency," according to its suspicious mail guidance. If someone needs medical attention, contact local authorities.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma with help from the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice news release, Nov. 3, 2026; criminal complaint, U.S. v. Martin, W.D. Okla., Case No. MJ-26-520-SM; U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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