Oklahoma man charged over hoax white-powder letters sent to US election officials

The charges and arrest

Federal prosecutors have charged Robin Martin, a 67-year-old man from Oklahoma City, with conveying a hoax and mailing threatening communications. An FBI affidavit made public on Tuesday, 3 November, ties him to hundreds of letters containing white powder that were sent to public officials before the 2024 and 2026 elections. Martin was arrested on Monday, 2 November, and appeared in the federal court in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. He was to remain in custody until a hearing scheduled for the following week. The federal public defender's office, which represents him, declined to comment on the charges, and online records showed no lawyer for him as of Tuesday afternoon. His daughter, Ava Martin, declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press.

What the letters contained

Investigators say the mailings went to election officials, members of Congress, polling firms, news organisations and federal authorities, and that more than 700 of them sent this autumn came from one sender. According to the FBI, the letters were addressed to election officials in all 50 states. Some letters gave a return address for 'U.S.T.E.A.', described as the Army of Elimination of Traitors of the United States, in Takoma Park, Maryland. Some letters warned that civil war was coming on 3 November, and some messages could only be read under ultraviolet light. In 2024, election officials in several states reported receiving a white substance along with a three-page letter declaring war, the FBI said. Lab tests so far have found only yeast or flour, although not every letter has been recovered or tested. On 13 October, an employee at the Oklahoma State Election Board opened an envelope and found powder.

Threats aimed at DSA members

Investigators say Martin contacted the Democratic Socialists of America in August and obtained members' email addresses, which were then added to a distribution list. On 11 October, a message sent to that list of DSA chapters from an account the bureau linked to him posed as an undercover agent. The writer said members who tried to vote would be targeted for arrest on 3 November and that this was the only warning they would get. The 2026 envelopes bore an outdated New York return address for the DSA.

How investigators tied him to the mailings

The FBI says Martin's fingerprints were found on a letter addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel, a letter written in ultraviolet-reactive ink that read 'FBI SAVE THE USA'. Investigators also traced a phone, believed to have been used for the threats, to a Walmart in Oklahoma City where it was bought. Camera footage and vehicle plate data place him near postal facilities in Oklahoma City, Dallas and San Antonio as the letters were mailed, according to the affidavit. The affidavit also links him to a 2024 letter claiming Donald Trump had won the 2020 election and voicing concern about similar problems in that year's vote. Weeks before the 2024 election, he posted on Facebook suggesting that the Postal Service was swaying the elections.

Timeline and official response

The chart traces the affidavit's account, running from Martin's August contact with the DSA to his arrest and court appearance. Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg described the case as a calculated attempt to terrify public officials, who could not know whether the powder might make them ill. The FBI said last month that it and the Postal Inspection Service were investigating letters with suspicious substances sent to congressional and election offices nationwide, and urged recipients to treat them as potentially hazardous. A message from the Senate sergeant at arms, obtained by the Associated Press, said law enforcement was working to intercept further letters, but that some might still arrive. On Tuesday the FBI referred questions to the US attorney's office, while the Postal Inspection Service had not returned an AP email seeking comment.