The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reopened some offices Wednesday that were closed earlier this week after an unspecified e-mail threat. USDA spokesman Matthew Herrick said offices in Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina and Kearneysville, West Virginia, will open Wednesday with additional security enhancements. USDA offices in Hamden, Connecticut, and Leetown, West Virginia, will remain closed while waiting for security improvements or notifications to union officials, reports Yahoo News.
The USDA had received “several anonymous messages” earlier this week that raised concerns about the safety of Department personnel and facilities. The USDA has not disclosed details of the threats, but Herrick said that the threat was one e-mail message sent to multiple employees at the affected locations.
"Without getting into detail of the email message, USDA continues to work closely with federal and local law enforcement, including the FBI, to determine whether the threat is credible," Herrick said.
The closed facilities include offices for eight USDA agencies, including the Forest Service and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Among the sites affected was USDA's sprawling agricultural research center and library in Beltsville, Maryland, where employees were informed of the threat Tuesday morning and sent home. In Fort Collins, Colorado, four buildings at the Natural Resources Research Center — a campus where over 1,000 people work — were closed.
Source: Yahoo