Threats made against 17 Oregon courthouses

PORTLAND — Courthouses and government offices across Oregon were evacuated Monday following bomb threats that resembled similar incidents in other states this month, authorities said.

Seventeen courthouses were targeted along with a Salem office building that houses the headquarters for the Oregon State Police.

State Police officials did not know of any suspicious devices being found, and the state bomb squad was not dispatched. Some courthouses were evacuated; others were checked for explosives while employees continued to work.

The telephoned threats began about 2:30 p.m. and continued for an hour, authorities said.

The threats follow similar incidents elsewhere. About eight threats were reported in Washington on Nov. 15, the state police said.

A caller phoned the county government center in Klamath County at 2:37 p.m. and “indicated there were explosives in the basement of the courthouse set to detonate within 25 minutes,” said Undersheriff Jeanette Davidson. Both the government center and the courthouse were evacuated as a precaution, but no explosives were found and employees returned to work, she said.

The Oregon counties reporting threats were: Baker, Benton, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa.