Suspicious letter with white powder sent to Speaker Mike Johnson's church: FBI launches investigation into package delivered to where his wife has an office

• Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, La., received the suspicious package on Monday, Johnson’s office confirmed
• The FBI said a field test of the substance did not detect anything harmful but further testing would be done

The FBI is now investigating a letter laced with a white powder that was mailed to Speaker Mike Johnson’s church in Louisiana, where his wife has an office.

Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, La., received the suspicious package on Monday, Johnson’s office confirmed.

Johnson and his family are active parishioners of the church and the speaker’s wife Kelly is a pastoral counselor with an office there.

The FBI said a field test of the substance did not detect anything harmful but further testing would be done. The agency warned: ‘even sending a hoax letter is a serious crime.’

Law enforcement told local news outlet KTSB the administrative office was evacuated and the state police HazMat unit was sent to investigate.

Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, La., received the suspicious package on Monday, Johnson’s office confirmed

Johnson and his family are active parishioners of the church and the speaker’s wife Kelly is a pastoral counselor with an office there

Authorities have not said who the letter was addressed to or what they believe the powder to be.

‘Speaker Johnson was made aware of a suspicious package sent to his home church in Louisiana,’ Johnson spokesperson Griffin Neal said in a statement.

‘Speaker Johnson and the Johnson family thank U.S. Capitol Police, the FBI, the Louisiana State Police, and the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office for taking swift action and handling the situation professionally.’

‘As the investigation is ongoing, we will refer all further questions to law enforcement handling this matter,’ he continued.

The Johnsons have led marriage retreats and taught Sunday school for their church, and much of Mrs. Johnson’s work and advocacy centers on promoting faith-based heterosexual marriage and opposing abortion.

Before offering faith-based counseling services, she taught at Providence Classical Academy, an evangelical school.

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