BY Richard Sisk
Borrowed from the New York Dailey News
Rep. King held controversial hearings in Congress on 'radicalization' in the Muslim community.
A package containing a bloody pig's foot and a hate-filled note was mailed to the Washington office of Rep. Peter King, prompting a police investigation.
U.S. Capital Hill cops said the parcel was intercepted Monday morning at a postal facility in Landover, Maryland, during a routine screening of congressional mail that began after the 9/11 attacks and an anthrax scare.
The severed pig's foot was accompanied by a letter filled with anti-Semitic slurs.
The gory package never reached King's office, and police notified the Long Island Republican about it Monday.
"The package was discovered at a mail facility off the Hill early this morning. We have an active open investigation regarding the incident and are working with postal inspectors," said Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider without elaborating.
The threatening mailing came after King launched a series of controversial hearings last month on the "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community."
It was not clear if the package was mailed in response to the hearings, whichsparked protests from American-Muslims in New York and in Washington.
King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has been the target of threats since he scheduled the hearing.
The Congressman, who is Catholic, had no immediate comment and referred all questions to the Capital Hill police.
King and his office have received increased security since the threats began.
"I'm getting a lot of hostile phone calls now, but the main threats I'm getting are from overseas," King said in an interview last month.
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which monitors hate-crimes against Muslims, said his organization routinely receives pig-themed hate messages, including letters smeared with bacon. The Muslim religion forbids eating pork.
"My guess is it was an anti-Muslim bigot, and bigots not being brain surgeons they probably got their signals crossed," Hooper said.
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