Carol Shea-Porter and Green Tea

The staff of U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, Democrat, New Hampshire, freaked out when they came face to face with some green tea.

From Now! Hampshire:

Taxpayer tea parties have rattled some politicians in Washington, as thousands have gathered in cities across America to object to President Obama’s spending policies. But no politician was rattled as severely as the staff of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) was yesterday.

After opening an envelope containing a teabag and marked “Tea Protest” in the Congresswoman’s Manchester office, Shea-Porter’s staff called Capitol Police and city police and firefighters.

The authorities instructed Shea-Porter’s staff to seek “refuge” as they performed field tests on the substance contained in the tea bag. It turned out to be green tea.

The culprit was a Pelham, NH man named Michael Yannetti, who objects to $3.6 trillion in new federal spending. Charges will not be filed against him, police say.

Here's more, from WMUR:

An envelope with a suspicious substance in it was sent to U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's Manchester office on Wednesday.

Shea-Porter's staff notified Manchester police when they received the suspicious envelope. Officials were able to determine that the substance was green tea and had been sent as a protest.

There was a return address on the envelope, and police spoke to the sender. Police said the sender showed a lack of judgment but didn't mean to cause alarm.

It must have been rather easy for officials to determine it was a protest, considering the envelope was marked "TEA PROTEST." The fact that there was a return address on the envelope and identified the sender, making it very simple for authorities to contact the man, indicates that he wasn't trying to cover his tracks in any way. Clearly, he didn't mean to cause alarm.

Shea-Porter's office staff seem to be rather skittish. They sought refuge from tea!

I wouldn't call the envelope "suspicious." The staff panicked. Don't they know tea when they see it?

Watch the video.