Connecticut House representatives targeted with bomb threats

On Tuesday and Wednesday, at least nine people chosen by Trump to lead the departments of defence, housing, agriculture and labour, as well as his pick for US ambassador to the United Nations, received warnings.

Police are investigating the incidents.

On Thursday, Connecticut representatives Haynes, Himes and Larson each released statements saying they had been contacted by police about a possible threat.

“At 7:47am I was notified by Chief Edward Stephens of the Wolcott Police Department that they received a threatening email stating a pipe bomb had been placed in the mailbox at my home…No bomb or explosive material were discovered,” Representative Hayes said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.

She thanked law enforcement and said the investigation was ongoing.

A spokesman for Representative Courtney released a similar statement, external to local media.

Courtney and his wife “extend their utmost gratitude to the law enforcement officers, whose response should signal to perpetrators that these types of threats will not be tolerated”, the statement said.

The FBI did not respond to an immediate request for comment regarding the incidents.

Representative DeLauro, the sole Connecticut House member who did not report a threat, could not be reached for comment.

The threats come as millions of Americans gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday that brings some of the country’s busiest travel days of the year.

Similar hoax tactics have been recently used against other high-profile political figures, including against the judges and prosecutors who oversaw the criminal cases against Trump.

Last year, US politicians around the country were swatted over Christmas. Most were Republican, but some Democrats were targeted as well.