October 24, 2018 10:15 AM UTC

Terror Scare Hits CNN, Obamas, Clintons

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: New York Times reports as the investigation continues:

Pipe bombs were sent to several prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, setting off an intense investigation on Wednesday into whether a bomber is going after political figures vilified by the right wing.

CNN received a similar bomb, addressed to John O. Brennan, a career intelligence officer who served as Mr. Obama’s C.I.A. director. The discovery of the device caused a mass evacuation of the Time Warner Center in Midtown Manhattan, where the network is located.

None of the devices harmed anyone; it was not immediately clear whether any of them could have exploded. One law enforcement official said investigators were examining the possibility that they were hoax devices.

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UPDATE: Politico:

The U.S. Secret Service on Wednesday morning released a statement that it had intercepted two packages, one addressed to Clinton and another to Obama.

Shortly after the statement was released, the Time Warner Center in New York City, where CNN’s New York bureau is located, was also evacuated due to a suspicious package. The package has been removed.

In addition, police in Florida have responded to a suspicious package at Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz’s Sunrise office, which was evacuated, Sunrise police confirmed to POLITICO. Police have also dispatched a bomb squad and are determining what was in the package.

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CNN reports following the evacuation of their New York offices this morning:

A US intelligence official tells CNN it is too early to tell whether there is a nexus to terrorism at this point regarding the suspicious packages sent to multiple locations today.

The official says the intelligence community is monitoring the situation regarding the suspicious packages, saying it is still very early in the process.

Intelligence agencies could become involved later on but at this point law enforcement is still assessing the facts on the ground, the official tells CNN.

We’ll be watching this developing story for updates and local reactions. Until we know more, it’s best not to speculate about motives and responsibility.

With that said, be safe out there. No political disagreement merits violence, ever.