OWS denies link to white powder letters sent to banks, news orgs

Three new envelopes containing suspicious white powder were sent to New York banks and news organizations Tuesday, along with notes suggesting the sender sympathizes with the Occupy Wall Street's Day of May 1 protests, police said.

A total of ten letter-sized envelopes were sent over the last two days, and at least some contained an identical note saying, "This is a reminder that you are not in control" and "Happy May Day," police spokesman Paul Browne said.

In all ten cases, the substance turned out to be non toxic and in several cases the powder was identified as corn starch, Browne said.

The letters appeared intended to coordinate with the planned day of May 1 protests organized by the Occupy Wall Street movement and labor groups across the country.

"The messages indicated a link to today's May Day demonstrations," Browne said.
Five envelopes were sent to Wells Fargo, while one was sent to J.P. Morgan, and another to Citicorp. News Corp. was also targeted, with one envelope addressed to the Wall Street Journal and a second "possibly" addressed to Fox News, police said.

I have no idea who is doing that," said Mark Bray, a member of OWS' press team told amNewYork. "The idea to threaten people is at odds with the principals of Occupy Wall Street... We condemn that without hesitation."

(with Reuters)