The US Department of Agriculture has temporarily closed six offices in five states after receiving an anonymous threat, USDA spokesman Matthew Herrick said Tuesday.
Herrick said one email message was sent to multiple employees at the six locations. The message pertained to the safety of USDA personnel and facilities. No other details were immediately released.
The affected offices are in Fort Collins, Colorado; Hamden, Connecticut; Beltsville, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Kearneysville and Leetown, West Virginia.
All will remain closed as a precaution until further notice. Approximately 1,500 employees are affected by the closures, according to Herrick.
During Tuesday’s White House briefing, press secretary Josh Earnest did not provide any additional specifics about the nature of the threat. “What I can tell you is that the Department of Agriculture is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the safety of their offices and the personnel that work there,” he said.
Herrick said the department is working closely with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, to determine whether the threat is credible.
