Straight Pride Parade boss said sending him envelope of glitter was act of terrorism
Bomb squads were called to handle the envelopes that turned out to be full of glitter and Bible verses.
The organizer of a ‘Straight Pride Parade’ blasted ‘terrorists’ that sent him an envelope full of glitter.
At least three of the parade’s leaders, who are members of the Super Happy Fun America straight advocacy group, received envelopes Monday, which caused panic before they were opened by bomb squads and found to be harmless.
John Hugo, a parade organizer and President of Super Happy Fun America, hit out at the person who sent the letters, which he said was a form of terrorism.
He told CBS: ‘I mean why would we open something like that. Even if it’s nothing in it, it’s still terrorism as far as I’m concerned because obviously it’s meant to intimidate us.’
Bomb Squads, hazmat teams, and the FBI responded to the envelopes, which had no return addresses.
Samson Racioppi, who also received one of the envelopes, told CNN: ‘I went out to my mailbox and there was an envelop in there with my name and address, no return address.’
‘The back was very heavily taped up and when I shook it I heard stuff shaking around inside.’
A hazmat team shut down Racioppi’s street and advised neighbors to leave their homes while the envelope was investigated.
Super Happy Fun America Vice President Mark Sahady also received a letter Monday afternoon and said he was immediately alarmed.
Sahady said: ‘I flipped it over and there was tape around where it’s sealed. And so all of these are red flags for me. And then I shook it and you could hear something rattling around inside…I was immediately alarmed of course.’
After authorities opened the letters, they were found to only contain Bible verses and colored glitter.
The parade has been steeped in controversy since it was approved last month. It is set to be the first ever ‘Straight Pride Parade’ in Boston, Massachusetts and is scheduled for August 31 – which is why the parade’s founders said they believe they were targeted.
Sahandy said: ‘(The Straight Pride Parade) got a lot of news coverage, so it obviously had to do with the parade.’
Although the packages were harmless, Hugo, who described himself as pro-straight, not anti-gay, said he still considered them to be form of terrorism.
Boston City Hall also got a letter that authorities confirmed was full of a glittery substance.
Authorities have since declared that the glitter-filled envelopes were a legal use of the US mail system.