Employees will be returning to work today at four of the USDA facilities that were closed Tuesday due to unspecified email threats.
According to The Associated Press, USDA spokesman Matt Herrick said offices in Fort Collins, Colorado; Beltsville, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Kearneysville, West Virginia, are reopening with additional security enhancements. The USDA facilities in Hamden, Connecticut, and Leetown, West Virginia, will remain closed due to further security improvements or notification from union officials.
As reported earlier, the agriculture department made the decision to close the offices Tuesday after Herrick said they received “several anonymous messages that are concerning for the safety of USDA personnel and its facilities.”
Herrick said the threat was one email message sent to multiple employees at all locations, and the USDA will continue to work with law enforcement, however officials determined the offices could be re-opened with extra security.
