A bomb squad was called to the Palm Beach, Fla., home of radio-talk show giant Rush Limbaugh today after security personnel found a suspicious package with what appeared to be wires inside.
Limbaugh's staff scanned the package in an X-ray machine and saw the wires, so they called police.
Inside the 18-by-18-inch box was an "electronic [plaque] commemorating the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth," the Palm Beach Daily News reported.
Limbaugh and his wife, Kathryn, were at home when the package arrived around 4:30 p.m, according to the report.
The next day, Limbaugh explained to radio listeners how the suspicious package was located: "We X-ray every bit of mail. Every UPS, every FedEx, gets X-rayed in its own separate building away from the house when it comes in. Before it's opened, before anybody sees it, it gets X-rayed. It's a giant X-ray machine much like you would say at an airport. It's huge. It's a professional thing. And the security team is diligent on this."
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The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office bomb squad took the box to a vacant guest house on the grounds and opened it. They reportedly found no explosives inside.
While the squad inspected the parcel, police blocked and re-routed nearby traffic. The local fire department also arrived on the scene.
"I didn't know what it was, a fire or not," Limbaugh neighbor Maura Ziska told the Daily News. "I asked the Sheriff's Office and they said, ‘We can’t tell you. You just need to go back in your house. There could be an explosion and the wind is blowing in your direction. So you need to go back into your house and be safe.'"
Palm Beach police determined that the parcel had been mailed by a man in the Wexford suburb of Pittsburgh, Pa., as a "business opportunity" for Limbaugh. According to the report, when police called the man, he apologized.
The property manager – acting on instructions from Limbaugh – told the media they would not be allowed to photograph the package.
"What it was, in itself, is a little disturbing, but I'll not share all that with you. But this is why we take the steps we do and go to the lengths we do for security and safety around the property," said the talk-show host.
As WND reported just days ago, a new Harris Interactive poll ranked Limbaugh as the worst news personality in America.
The Harris poll is somewhat at odds with a Wenzel poll last summer in which 56 percent said Limbaugh is doing an excellent, good or fair job, while only 28 percent said his performance was poor. Fifteen percent had no opinion. More than 51 percent said his work is very helpful or somewhat helpful to the nation, while 34 percent said he was very harmful or somewhat harmful. Again, 15 percent held no opinion.
"Even among the very liberal, 42 percent said he was helpful to America," said Fritz Wenzel, president of Wenzel Strategies at the time. "There is a significant gender gap for Limbaugh, as 59 percent of all men considered him helpful to America, just 43 percent of women agreed. That said, more women than not agreed that Limbaugh is helpful to America – just 38 percent of women said he was harmful, while 19 percent were not sure."
Ironically, although Limbaugh tops the worst list in the new Harris poll, he also ranks at No. 9 on the survey's list of favorite news personalities.