America: A man is accused of sending “an unknown powder” to officials before the elections

US federal authorities have brought charges against a man from Oklahoma City, after he sent hundreds of emails containing white powder, and containing warnings about treason, to government officials, ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation explained, in a judicial document revealed on Tuesday, that initial tests showed that the powdered substance was not dangerous, as it turned out to be flour or yeast, noting at the same time that tests had not yet been completed on all the seized letters.

The accused, Robin Martin (67 years old), faces two charges: “fabricating a false report and causing panic,” and “sending threats by mail.”

The authorities arrested him on Monday, and he appeared on Tuesday before the federal court in Oklahoma, before the court decided to detain him pending a hearing to consider his detention scheduled for next week.

For its part, the office of the federal defense attorney in charge of defending Martin announced that it would refrain from commenting on the accusations, and his daughter, Ava Martin, also refused to make any statement, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Yesterday (Tuesday), Americans cast their votes in crucial midterm elections for Congress, which will determine the balance of power in Washington and the margin of action for President Donald Trump during the last two years of his second term.

The vote turned into a popular test of Trump's policies and influence, in light of dissatisfaction with the high costs of living, immigration policies, and the war with Iran.

While Democrats are betting on seizing control of Congress to restrict the president's agenda, they face the dilemma of transforming popular opposition to Trump into a legislative program that meets the aspirations of voters, amid a growing discrepancy in their domestic priorities.

On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice deployed officials across the United States to monitor the progress of the voting process in the midterm congressional elections in electoral districts with a Democratic majority, in conjunction with the expansion of a criminal investigation related to an election campaign to win a seat in the Senate for the state of Alaska.

The ministry announced that it would send 1,000 electoral observers to districts in all fifty states. An analysis conducted by Reuters showed that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris defeated President Donald Trump in about two-thirds of those electoral districts in the 2024 presidential elections.

Black and Latino voters constitute a majority in many of these electoral districts, which are concentrated in states that may determine who will control the US Senate.

The Trump administration followed a strict approach to monitoring the elections. She pressed states to obtain voter registration data and said tougher measures were needed to ensure public confidence in the voting process. That included asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters who federal officials say are likely noncitizens. The Supreme Court rejected this lawsuit on Monday evening. Critics have described these measures and the surveillance program as potential voter intimidation. In the state of Alaska, a state of turmoil prevailed in the Senate race after the New York Times reported last week that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola contributed to attracting a third candidate with the same first and last name as her Republican competitor, Dan Sullivan. Peltola denied any involvement. The Ministry of Justice opened a criminal investigation into these accusations, and is working to expand the scope of this investigation. An informed source, who requested that his name not be published, said that the ministry sent letters to more than 20 people notifying them that they were subject to a criminal investigation. The source added that one of the recipients of these letters is voting rights attorney Mark Elias, whose law firm often represents Democrats in court.