(CNN) -- Authorities intercepted a suspicious package with explosives that was addressed to tough-talking Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
U.S. Postal Inspector Andrew Rivas in Flagstaff screened the package Thursday and realized it was suspicious enough to call the local police bomb squad and the FBI.
"We evacuated the post office, got all our employees to safety," Rivas told CNN affiliate KTVK.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said Flagstaff police X-rayed the package and neutralized it Thursday night.
Rivas said authorities have an idea of where the package may have come from, but declined to specify, citing the ongoing investigation.
Flagstaff is about 150 miles north of Phoenix, the seat of Maricopa County.
Arpaio has made national headlines for years with his unorthodox -- and often controversial -- style of justice.
Many of his prisoners have been housed in tents and forced to wear pink underwear, and he once boasted about feeding them on less than a dollar a day.
Arpaio's critics say he has a long history of launching bogus criminal investigations against political opponents and anyone else who gets in his way.
But the sheriff is perhaps best known for his hard-line anti-immigration policies that have led to accusations of civil rights violations.
Arpaio was the subject of a civil lawsuit by the Justice Department alleging civil rights violations. According to the civil complaint, the sheriff's office has displayed a pattern of discrimination against Latinos, which includes racial profiling, unlawful detention and searches, and unlawful targeting of Latinos during raids.
Arpaio has denied any discrimination, and one of his attorneys called the Justice Department investigation a "witch hunt."
After winning his sixth term last November, the 80-year-old sheriff said he doesn't plan on leaving office anytime soon.
"For my critics out there, I'm going to say right now: In January, I'm signing up for 2016. So I'm not a lame duck," he told a crowd of cheering supporters.
U.S. Postal Inspector Andrew Rivas in Flagstaff screened the package Thursday and realized it was suspicious enough to call the local police bomb squad and the FBI.
"We evacuated the post office, got all our employees to safety," Rivas told CNN affiliate KTVK.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said Flagstaff police X-rayed the package and neutralized it Thursday night.
Rivas said authorities have an idea of where the package may have come from, but declined to specify, citing the ongoing investigation.
Flagstaff is about 150 miles north of Phoenix, the seat of Maricopa County.
Arpaio has made national headlines for years with his unorthodox -- and often controversial -- style of justice.
Many of his prisoners have been housed in tents and forced to wear pink underwear, and he once boasted about feeding them on less than a dollar a day.
Arpaio's critics say he has a long history of launching bogus criminal investigations against political opponents and anyone else who gets in his way.
But the sheriff is perhaps best known for his hard-line anti-immigration policies that have led to accusations of civil rights violations.
Arpaio was the subject of a civil lawsuit by the Justice Department alleging civil rights violations. According to the civil complaint, the sheriff's office has displayed a pattern of discrimination against Latinos, which includes racial profiling, unlawful detention and searches, and unlawful targeting of Latinos during raids.
Arpaio has denied any discrimination, and one of his attorneys called the Justice Department investigation a "witch hunt."
After winning his sixth term last November, the 80-year-old sheriff said he doesn't plan on leaving office anytime soon.
"For my critics out there, I'm going to say right now: In January, I'm signing up for 2016. So I'm not a lame duck," he told a crowd of cheering supporters.
Many of his prisoners have been housed in tents and forced to wear pink underwear, and he once boasted about feeding them on less than a dollar a day.
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