Controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County Arizona had a package addressed to him containing explosive materials that was found at a post office in Flagstaff, both federal and local authorities said.
Investigators said they believe the package had been picked up at a rural P.O. Box on Thursday and arrived in Flagstaff at the post office late in the afternoon the same day.
The package was addressed to the headquarters of Sheriff Arpaio in Phoenix’s downtown area. A worker at the post office said the package looked suspicious.
Federal agents and police from Flagstaff responded and the package was x-rayed and that led to the decision to detonate it using a water cannon.
Police in Flagstaff, postal inspectors, FBI agents and sheriff’s investigators are all working on the case, said a spokesperson from the federal government.
Arpaio has been a controversial law enforcement figure for his policies on illegal immigration along with the tough rules he makes inmates in his county adhere to. He has been threatened many times during his tenure of 20 years. Some of those threats were hoaxes, but others were serious and police made arrests.
A spokesperson for Arpaio’s office said the agency was always taking steps to make sure threats against Arpaio were minimized, including delaying any information regarding when and where he would make a public appearance and by varying his routine and schedule.
