Suspicious packages addressed to former U.S. President Barack Obama and two-time presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have been intercepted, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The Secret Service characterized the packages as “potential explosive devices.”
A package addressed to Clinton, Obama’s one-time Secretary of State, was located in Westchester Country, N.Y., on late Tuesday, the agency said. Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton have a residence in Chappaqua, N.Y.
A second package addressed to the Washington, D.C., residence of Obama was intercepted on Wednesday morning.
Neither of the prominent Democrats was in the vicinity of the packages when they were flagged.
“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the Secret Service said.
The house of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton in Chappaqua, N.Y., is shown in a 2000 file photo. It’s not clear how far from the residence the package in question was. (Reuters)
The developments come just two days after an explosive device was found in a mailbox at the suburban New York home of George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist who has been denounced by President Donald Trump and vilified by right-wing conspiracy theorists.
A Soros employee alerted authorities of the package, which they left in a wooded area near the home. It was later detonated, authorities said.