Former U.S. President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among the targets of suspected package bombs delivered to several high-profile Democrats and CNN in what New York officials on Wednesday branded an act of terrorism, Reuters reports.
The suspicious parcels, at least five in all, were intercepted before any reached their intended recipients, including Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, and former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, the FBI said.
None of the packages detonated, and nobody was hurt. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
But news of the threats heightened tensions in a nation deeply polarized ahead of elections on Nov. 6 that will decide whether Democrats take control of one or both houses of Congress from Republicans and deny President Donald Trump the majority his party now holds in both.
President Donald Trump told a political rally in Wisconsin that his government would conduct “an aggressive investigation.”
“Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy itself,” Trump said. “We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony.”
But he said the media has a responsibility “to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories.”