"Straight Pride Parade" organizers get letters filled with glitter — and a bomb squad responded

The organizers of a controversial "Straight Pride Parade" planned in Boston this summer said they received suspicious letters, prompting a response from the FBI, three fire departments and the Massachusetts State Police bomb squad. They turned out to be filled with glitter, CBS Boston reported. 

Parade organizer John Hugo said he and two other members of Super Happy Fun America, an advocacy group for "straight rights," received letters they deemed suspicious. They did not open them and called authorities.

"We, of course, called the police, I mean why would we open something like that," Hugo told CBS Boston. "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."

Another organizer, Samson Racioppi, said he shook the letter he received and heard something rattling inside. "It wasn't powder, it was bigger than powder, it felt more granular in nature, bigger than sand," he said. "I was immediately alarmed of course."

Sources told CBS Boston that the letters were sent with no return addresses and they contained colored glitter and Bible passages. The FBI said there was no immediate threat to the public. No arrests or charges have been announced.

Sources told the station a suspicious letter containing a "glittery substance" also arrived at Boston's City Hall on Monday. Police and the FBI are working to determine if it's connected to the other letters.

The city of Boston approved a permit for the "Straight Pride Parade" last week, and organizers said it will be held August 31. But Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said the event isn't official yet, and that the organizers still need approval from the city's police department and licensing board to make it happen.