The USDA facility pictured above houses the office of the secretary, not one of the offices closed Aug. 30 due to threats.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Agriculture has closed offices in five states after receiving anonymous threats.
USDA spokesman Matthew Herrick said in a statement Tuesday that the department had received "several anonymous messages" that raised concerns about the safety of USDA personnel and facilities. He said six offices are closed until further notice.
Herrick said the department is working with the FBI and federal and local law enforcement to determine whether the threats are credible.
In an email to employees, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA is closing the offices "due to the serious nature of these threats." He did not characterize the threats or say how they were received, but asked employees to be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity.
The closed facilities are in Fort Collins, Colorado; Hamden, Connecticut; Beltsville, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Kearneysville, West Virginia; and Leetown, West Virginia.
They include offices for eight USDA agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Among the sites affected was USDA's sprawling agricultural research center and library in Beltsville, where employees were informed of the threat Tuesday morning and sent home.
The closures may affect some tourists. In Colorado, the Forest Service's Canyon Lakes Ranger District tweeted that their information center is closed.
