Downstate man charges with sending threatening letters to members of Congress
A Quincy man has been charged in federal court in Springfield with sending a series of threatening letters to Chicago-area members of Congress containing a white powder, including one with a message saying, “HAH enjoy the gift,” court records show.
Matthew Unglesbee, 37, of Quincy, was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court with mailing threatening communications and perpetrating a hoax.
He was arrested over the weekend and had an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon in Springfield, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Quigley ordered him held pending a detention hearing on Wednesday, court records show. His court-appointed attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to the eight-page complaint, Unglesbee mailed at least four letters containing a white powdery substance that were received by federal elected officials. All of the letters were postmarked in Springfield on Oct. 19 and were in plain white envelopes and had handwritten addresses and Unglesbee’s name in the return address area.
The most recent letter arrived on Friday at the office of a U.S. senator, according to the complaint. The envelope also contained a white powdery substance and a handwritten note reading, “HAH enjoy the gift,” the complaint states.
When federal agents went to interview Unglesbee at his home on Sunday, he told them all of the letters contained salt. He said he’d sent the letters after hearing about similar mailings on the news earlier this month. He said he knew the recipients would “take it serious” and have hazmat teams respond because “anthrax is dangerous,” the complaint states.
“Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognized the recipients would not know he was joking and could perceive it as a threat,” the complaint states.
When agents searched his home, they found a fifth envelope addressed to another congressperson’s office in Washington, D.C., according to the complaint.
Records show Unglesbee has been an Illinois registered sex offender since 2010, stemming from a conviction in Saline County involving a 15-year-old victim. His criminal record also includes convictions for drunken driving and assault, records show.
The complaint doesn’t name the members of Congress who received the letters, but several have gone public.
Among them is Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who confirmed Monday her office has received at least two “suspicious” pieces of mail in recent weeks. One was intercepted by the U.S. Postal Service, while the other arrived at Duckworth’s Chicago office, the spokesperson said before declining further comment due to the ongoing investigation.
Chicago Democrat Mike Quigley said in a statement last that his office had received two suspicious packages recently and notified Chicago police and U.S. Capitol Police.
On Monday, Quigley praised law enforcement for its swift response and said he was “relieved to learn” that an arrest had been made in one of the mailings.
“This individual, and whoever is responsible for the other suspicious mail received around the country, must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Quigley said in an emailed statement.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky also publicly stated last week that her office had received suspicious mailings and that they prompted a hazardous materials response. On Monday, the Skokie Democrat said in a statement she was “grateful to the law enforcement officers who acted quickly and decisively to help ensure the safety of me and my staff and are working to hold those responsible accountable.”
Another mailing went to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Highland Park Democrat. His office sent a statement Monday thanking the Quincy police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service “for treating this investigation with the seriousness it deserves and for their swift action.”
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com; jgorner@chicagotribune.com