FBI calls acid-filled letter to NAACP a hate crime

Cheatham said he opened the letter Friday, resulting in an anxious, fear-filled hour for the 57-year-old civil rights leader. Initially, police feared the substance was anthrax.

“I had to stand by myself for an hour waiting for HAZMAT crews,” Cheatham Sr. said. “No one could go near me.”

Cheatham said the Baltimore City police HAZMAT team determined the substance was boric acid, a pesticide that is toxic only if ingested.

The FBI later analyzed the letter and told Cheatham it was filled with the “n word,” as well as death threats, he said. The bureau is classifying the letter as a hate crime, Cheatham said.

A spokeswoman confirmed that the FBI and the Baltimore City Police were investigating the incident.

Cheatham said the New York branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the only other chapter to be targeted so far, received a similar letter Friday.

He said both branches recently received the Thalheimer Award at the annual NAACP convention for being thebest chapters in the country with membership of more than 1,000.

“They were No. 1, and we were No. 2,” he said.

Cheatham said the letter had a return address from Baton Rouge, La., that was rubber-stamped on the envelope. He said the envelope also was smudged and postmarked from Baton Rouge.

He said he was so taken aback by the white powder that he dropped the letter without reading it.

While Cheatham called the experience terrifying, he said the incident has a bright side.

“If people attack you, it means you?re doing good to help people. This just comes with the territory,” he said.

One especially frightening aspect of the crime, Cheatham said, is that senior citizens usually open the organization?s mail.

“I?m glad I opened the letter,” he said. “Otherwise one of the seniors might have had a heart attack.”

? Examiner Staff Writer Luke Broadwater contributed to this article.

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