The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has closed offices in five states after receiving anonymous threats on Tuesday.
In a statement, USDA spokesman Matthew Herrick said that the department had received “several anonymous messages” that raised concerns about the safety of the agency’s personnel and facilities.
USDA offices in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia are closed until further notice, Herrick said. He added that the FBI as well as federal and local law enforcement are working to determine the credibility of the threats.
Alicia Stice, a reporter for the Coloradoan, tweeted that she was on scene at the USDA’s office at Fort Collins.
She posted a photo with a sign reading: “THIS BUILDING IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. SORRY FOR AN INCONVENIENCE.”
Stice also tweeted that the parking lot was “almost entirely empty” and there was only “one law enforcement car parked outside building B.”
There is one law enforcement car parked outside building B. So far that’s the only police presence I’ve seen. pic.twitter.com/CBC0cx2Li1
— ❄️Alicia Stice ☃️ (@AliciaStice) August 30, 2016
