This story was updated at 5:20 on Tuesday.
ST. JOHNSBURY — Nothing dangerous was found in a suspicious package delivered to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office in St. Johnsbury on Tuesday, according to the town’s fire chief.
Police, firefighters and state hazmat crews responded to the senator’s field office on Western Avenue Tuesday afternoon after an employee there opened the box and found it empty — except for packing material and an unknown residue at the bottom, Fire Chief Jon Bouffard said.
St. Johnsbury police officers contacted the company that sent the box and determined that everything inside was innocuous, Bouffard said.
He said hazmat crews did not need to assess the substance.
The chief said the company, whose name he didn’t know, deals with electronics and had sent the box so that something could be shipped back inside it.
“Everything lined up,” Bouffard said, adding that “obviously, there’s some concern” when an unknown substance arrives at a senator’s office.
The remaining responders left the scene shortly before 5 p.m.
The Caledonian Record reported that the building was evacuated as a precaution.
A dispatcher at the St. Johnsbury Police Department said personnel were on scene and provided no other information about the situation.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Suspicious package at Sanders field office found harmless.