08:27 PM CST on Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Lee McGuire / KVUE NEWS

State Rep. Phil King of Weatherford has received two threatening letters, each containing a white powder the letters' author claimed was anthrax. Preliminary tests show the substance was not harmful.

King's office in the basement of the State Capitol and his Weatherford district office were both shut down for several hours Tuesday as law enforcement officials investigated the incident.

The letters have been forwarded to DPS offices in Dallas and Austin for further analysis.

According to Rep. King, the letters appeared to have been typed on a word processor, and threatened his safety and his family's safety if the House passed a telecommunications bill which King was sponsoring.

The House passed that bill on Tuesday.

King says the letters arrived at his offices on Friday, a state holiday, but were not opened until Tuesday morning.

"No one likes to get threatening letters," King told KVUE News. "You certainly don't want them when they're referencing your family. But these things happen when you're in public office."

As a precaution, law enforcement officials were watching his home in Weatherford to ensure his family's safety, King said.

Investigators spent Tuesday evening in King's office, going through other correspondence in an attempt to figure out who would send the Republican such a threatening letter about a bill designed to increase competition among telecommunications businesses.

"It is a major business bill, it's a major consumer bill, but there's nothing that's controversial outside of the business world," King said.