UPDATE: Powder mailed to 19 Scientology centers
FBI investigating synchronized threats mailed to Southern California properties, including Tustin and Newport Beach locations.
The Orange County Register
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TUSTIN - At least 19 Church of Scientology-affiliated properties across Southern California, including locations in Tustin and Newport Beach, have received letters containing a white, powdery substance, and federal investigators Thursday were trying to track down the sender. The letters forced the evacuation of dozens of people Wednesday and shut down a major street in Glendale while hazardous-materials crews investigated the powder.Initial tests done by fire and police agencies found the substances to be harmless. The letters appear to be nothing more than a hoax, according to FBI officials. Employees of the Church of Scientology have been warned to be on the lookout for additional letters, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimillier said.Powders sent in the two envelopes to the Church of Scientology at the corner of Red Hill Avenue and Irvine Boulevard was cornstarch and wheat germ, said Lt. John Strain of the Tustin Police Department. An envelope full of powder was also sent to a Church of Scientology detoxification center in Newport Beach.At least one of the envelopes sent to the Tustin property contained threats, demanding the Church of Scientology be dismantled, Strain said. FBI officials declined to comment on the threat or whether other envelopes contained similar threats.Sending white powder through the mail is assumed to be a threat, Eimiller said.The wording of the threat echoes the sentiments of an Internet-based group called Anonymous, which is planning 170 protests Feb. 10 at Church of Scientology locations worldwide, demanding the church be dismantled.The FBI is investigating the synchronized mailings, which were delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to at least 19 locations across Southern California. Envelopes containing the powders were discovered in 17 locations in Los Angeles, including Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley and northeast Los Angeles. Envelopes were also sent to Church of Scientology properties in Glendale and Santa Monica, in addition buildings in Tustin and Newport Beach.A secretary opening the mail at the Tustin church discovered the powder in two envelopes about 3:15 p.m., Strain said. The secretary told police she had also answered several annoying phone calls throughout the day before discovering the powder, Strain said.The secretary and five other people nearby were quarantined for several hours while a hazardous-materials team from the Orange County Fire Authority investigated the powder. The Orange County Health Care Agency is testing the powder sent to the Newport location.The Church of Scientology had made no comment regarding the mailings. The letters arrived just a week after someone hacked into the Church's website and posted a cyber threat. There was no evidence that Wednesday's mailings were connected to the hacking.No arrests have been made.
The Church of Scientology in southern California, United States have received several envelopes containing a white powder which authorities say ended up being wheat germ and corn starch.

Authorities had to evacuate at least one building in Tustin and shut down a street in Glendale while they examined the substance. Envelopes were also sent to Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica locations.

"Initial field testing by LAPD indicates the powder is harmless. However, further testing will be conducted. We will also work to assess what threat, if any, was associated with the mailings and determine whether any federal statutes were violated," said Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI.

The envelopes, which we were sent through the United States Postal Service, targeted 10 different Churches throughout southern California. Some also contained threats.

The Church has not issued a statement regarding the incidents and no one has yet claimed responsibility for sending the envelopes. 

This comes just before a scheduled protest which an Internet group called 'Anonymous' has organized, set to take place on February 10 at Church locations across the globe. 

According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', authorities stated that there was no evidence connecting the mailings to the Internet group.

On a Project Chanology website, 'Anonymous' made a statement about the senders of the powder under the heading 'To the Public and Anybody Investigating the Anthrax Hoax': "They may not even be Anonymous (they might even have been a plant by the "Church" of Scientology as black propaganda); we do not know, and by the nature of our organization, cannot know."