QUINCY, IL—A western Illinois man has been federally charged in connection to suspicious letters and packages sent to U.S. Congress members in the Chicago area, federal authorities announced.
Matthew Unglesbee, 37, of Quincy, who is an Illinois registered sex offender, is facing federal felonies of false information and hoaxes and mailing threatening communications.
According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 16, the FBI National Threat Operations Area received an online tip a submitted by an anonymous tipster reporting a man named Unglesbee who was sending unknown substances to members of Congress.
The anonymous tipster said he overheard Unglesbee say he had just sent suspicious substances in the mail to different congresspeople around the country, the complaint said. Also provided was Unglesbee's correct full name, current address per government records, and date of birth.
FBI agents, along with the assistance of law enforcement agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Quincy Police Department arrived at Unglesbee's mother's house to execute a search warrant. Unglesbee and his mother were each placed into separate vehicles as law enforcement searched the home, the Herald-Whig reported.
He was taken away by FBI agents and brought to the Adams County Jail where he was held overnight until federal charges were announced in Springfield.
The offices of U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Robin Kelly (IL-02) each received one or more threatening mailings this month. All the targeted congresspersons are Democrats.
Quigley, identified as "Congressman A" in the complaint, received a second threatening mailing on Oct. 21 at his Clybourn Street office in Chicago. A staff member noticed the letter felt like it contained a power and could hear something moving inside the letter. Quigley's congressional aide called 911. Quigley's office had been on alert since the week before, when the first suspicious letter arrived Oct. 16. Both letters contained handwritten notes that read "HA, HA."
Schakowsky's district office in Skokie also reported receiving a second suspicious envelope on Oct. 21. Authorities were alerted when her staff noticed something unusual about the envelope.
Schneider reported receiving a threatening letter Friday, prompting a response from police, firefighters and a hazardous materials team. Inside was a handwritten letter that said, "Hah, enjoy the gift."
"When our team saw a similar letter in our mailbox, we immediately closed the mailbox and alerted Lincolnshire Police and the U.S. Capitol Police," Schneider said in a statement.
Kelly told WBEZ that one of her district offices received an envelope containing a suspicious substance and that staff immediately contacted local law enforcement and U.S. Capitol Police.
Two Cook County buildings in downtown Chicago also drew emergency responses when Cook County Treasurer Marie Pappas said her office received a letter with a powdery substance that turned out to be baking powder, ABC-7 Chicago reported.
Around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, FBI Springfield agents, local police and U.S. postal inspectors arrived at Unglesbee's mother's house near 13th and Washington Street in Quincy.
Unglesbee's mother said she was awoken by a knock at the door and was asked to wake up her son. She told Muddy River News that she was asked by federal agents about whether her son had "problems with the government."
The FBI said the letters received around Oct. 21 at the Chicago-area congresspeople's offices were in plain white, letter-sized envelopes. The letters were postmarked Oct. 19 in Springfield, but had been mailed Oct. 16 or Oct. 17 in Quincy. The return address reportedly contained Unglesbee's own name and current address.
After hearing someone in a restaurant mention a news story of the other letters sent earlier this month, he sent the latest batch to the four congress members in the Chicago area, the feds said.
FBI agents said Unglesbee acknowledged being aware of past mailings of white power sent in letters that included anthrax. He was cognizant that recipients of white power letters "took it serious" and that "hazmat would come in white suits" because "anthrax is dangerous," according to the criminal complaint.
Unglesbee allegedly confirmed that the substance he sent was salt. Federal agents said Unglesbee claimed he was joking but recognized that recipients may not know he was joking and take it as a threat.
When referencing other letters mailed earlier in the month to other members of Congress, Unglesbee denied involvement and said he didn't have money to travel to other states to mail letters, the feds said.
During the Sunday raid, the FBI searched Unglesbee's room, where agents located a fifth unmailed envelope addressed to one of the Chicago-area congress member's Washington, D.C. office.
According to Muddy River News, Unglesbee's mother said FBI agents seized her computer, her son's computer, his phone and a container of Morton Salt.
A few days before Sunday's raid, Muddy River News took photos of Unglesbee at a campaign stop for Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a Democrat, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
He gave a rambling video on his mother's Facebook page, calling President Donald Trump "the worst president we ever had" and urged voters to vote for Stratton and other Democrats to flip the House and Senate. Unglesbee also reminded viewers to turn their clocks back one hour on Nov. 1 so they wouldn't be late for church or work the next morning.
Schneider told ABC 7 Chicago that the most recent threatening mailings to his office had a Quincy postmark.
According to the complaint, some of the envelopes came with messages saying "haha" or "hah enjoy the gift."
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