Letters cause tense moments

For the second time in as many weeks, suspicious letters have caused a stir at the Spokane County Courthouse.

Four letters arrived Wednesday morning in the offices of the county clerk, the county prosecutor and a Superior Court judge. Three were opened, and at least one employee reported feeling sick due to a substance contained in the envelope, prompting authorities to evacuate the third floor of the building.

A similar situation occurred July 7, when three county employees experienced scratchy throats, headaches and chest pains after opening a letter. The entire courthouse was evacuated for more than hour amid fears that the letters were laced with poison.

In both cases, the workers’ symptoms reportedly wore off within minutes. Ayn Dietrich-Williams of the FBI, which is leading the investigation, said lab testing “did not indicate any hazardous material” on the letters from the first incident and the agency has found “no information to suggest a specific and credible threat to public safety” from the most recent incident.

An initial analysis of Wednesday’s letters suggest they contained a material with “mild irritant characteristics,” said Dietrich-Williams. The letters, which appear to have been sent by the same people involved in the July 7 incident, are being sent to a laboratory for more testing, she said.

There have been no arrests.

“There is a possibility that a very minute amount of vapor could be expelled into the air and dissipate quickly,” said Brian Schaeffer, assistant chief of the Spokane Fire Department. “And then, afterwards, we wouldn’t be able to detect it.”

Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, meanwhile, considers the letters a form of terrorism.

‘Paper terrorism’

Christopher A. Cain, 51, is an 11-time felon being held in the county jail on a drive-by shooting charge. He’s accused of firing a single shot at a man in the parking lot of a north Spokane gas station March 11.

Cain and his wife have admitted sending the letters that twice alarmed workers in the courthouse. Cain declined an interview request Wednesday, but in interviews with KHQ following the July 7 incident, he and his wife denied putting any hazardous substances on the letters.

Cain has repeatedly refused to speak during court proceedings, forcing the judge and attorneys to reschedule. At one point, his wife insisted on representing him, although she is not a lawyer.

According to the sheriff, Cain is one of numerous locals who call themselves “sovereign citizens” – anti-government protesters who believe they’re immune from most laws, including paying taxes and getting driver’s licenses.

The loosely organized sovereign movement has an estimated 300,000 adherents nationwide, and the FBI considers them a “serious” threat to public safety. Although rooted in white supremacy, the movement now includes several predominantly black sects whose main target is government.

Sovereigns are known to harass law enforcement officers, file property liens against government officials and gum up the legal system with “bizarre and incomprehensible letters,” according to Mark Potok, a senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center, a Montgomery, Alabama-based nonprofit that tracks hate groups.

Their tactics are commonly referred to as “paper terrorism.”

“They’re known for sending very strange documents to courthouses and other officials,” Potok said. “But I’ve never heard of them poisoning a letter.”

Communicating through social media and conspiratorial websites, sovereigns claim allegiance only to themselves or to outlandishly named “nations.” The former Marine who killed three police officers Sunday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for example, identified with the United Washitaw De Dugdahmoundyah Mu’ur Nation.

J.J. MacNab, a fellow at George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, told NBC News that at least 14 police officers have been killed and another 14 injured in 62 incidents involving sovereign citizens since Sept. 11, 2001.

Knezovich, who frequently warns against the dangers of “homegrown terrorism,” said in February that deputies were increasingly pulling over unlicensed drivers who claimed to be sovereign citizens or “free travelers.”

All clear

Several courthouse employees didn’t want to be interviewed Wednesday but acknowledged that the letter incidents made many workers nervous.

Christopher Cain faces charges of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting, which could result in a prison sentence of at least five years. The office of Judge Annette Plese, who is assigned to his case, did not return a message seeking comment.

Knezovich said he doesn’t know if Cain could face charges for the letter incidents. He expressed frustration that more hasn’t been done to curb the sovereign movement.

“They want a disruption,” the sheriff said. “We’re not going to let them do that.”