Despite scares, business as usual in Jan Brewer’s mailroom

PHOENIX — Despite all of the suspicious package scares at the offices of various politicians around the country, it’s business as usual in the Arizona State Capitol mailroom.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s spokesman, Matt Benson, could not give specifics on exactly how the mail is handed at the capitol, but did say that the state has security procedures in place regarding the handling of mail.

“Those procedures have not changed because of the incidents of the last 24 to 48 hours,” he said. “We’re confident that the procedures that we have in place are adequate at this time.”

Benson said no suspicious packages have shown up at Brewer’s office. Two suspicious envelopes were sent to Sen. Jeff Flake’s Phoenix office on Wednesday. It was later determined that they were not a threat. A Phoenix police officer was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but has been released. Two office workers were treated for anxiety.

Meanwhile, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office said it won’t open any mail sent to its headquarters until further notice. A package addressed to Arpaio that had an explosive device in it was discovered and defused last week in Flagstaff.