Investigators are working to determine why two media organizations in Kentucky were the targets of a bomb threat and vandalism over the weekend.
A letter was found on a printer at Southeast Kentucky Publishing in London on Saturday that threatened to blow up the newspaper printing plant. The text of the letter is below:
“Good Morning, I’ll be brief. I installed several explosives in the building. If you do not send in the amount of $25,000 by May 31st I will blow up this whole block. If you try to contact the police, I’ll know. I also have access to your computers and email addresses. Go to the nearest Western Union agency and send the amount to Emerson Eduardo Rodrigues Setim. The passport number is FO645170. It’s a brazilian passport. The city that the money will be withdraw is Chicago, Illinois, USA. Do as I say and no one will get hurt. P.S. I repeat if you try to contact the police I will known.”The building was evacuated and a bomb-sniffing dog found no evidence of explosives.
Senior Publisher Bill Hanson says a private security firm has been hired to be on site for the next few days.
"We're going about business as usual and allowing the security folks to do their thing and allowing state police to do their thing, and hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it and someone will be held accountable for what they've done."
Police are also looking into who shattered windows at the Herald-Leader offices in Lexington. Governor Matt Bevin called the incident irresponsible and inappropriate.
The governor has recently been critical of the Herald-Leaderand Courier-Journal in Louisville for not giving his administration favorable coverage. Bevin said the newspaper should find out who is responsible for the damage and hold them accountable.
