Powder scare
Donald Trump Jr.’s wife is taken to a hospital as a precaution after opening an envelope addressed to her husband that contained an unidentified white powder.
NEW YORK — Donald Trump Jr.’s wife was taken to a New York City hospital on Monday as a precaution after she opened an envelope addressed to her husband that contained an unidentified white powder, though police later said the substance wasn’t dangerous, authorities said.
The frightening episode happened after 10 a.m. when Trump, 40, opened the letter addressed to the president’s son at her mother’s midtown Manhattan apartment, investigators said. She called 911 and said she was coughing and felt nauseated, police said.
“Thankful that Vanessa & my children are safe and unharmed after the incredibly scary situation that occurred this morning,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter. “Truly disgusting that certain individuals choose to express their opposing views with such disturbing behavior.”
Fire officials said they treated three patients who were then taken to a hospital for evaluation. Police said the envelope contained a letter but provided no other details.
Detectives from the New York Police Department’s intelligence division and Secret Service agents were investigating.
Secret Service Special Agent Jeffrey Adams said in a statement that agents were investigating “a suspicious package addressed to one of our protectees” in New York but wouldn’t comment further.
Vanessa Trump, a former model, and Donald Trump Jr. have five children, none of whom was home at the time.
The Trump family has had to deal with a number of similar scares.
In March 2016, police and FBI agents investigated a threatening letter sent to the Manhattan apartment of Donald Trump Jr.’s brother, Eric, that also contained a white powder that turned out to be harmless. Envelopes containing white powder also were sent to Trump Tower twice in 2016.