A North Fort Myers man says he was shocked to find a disturbing package in his mailbox — a plain manila envelope containing a red arm sleeve printed with a swastika and a card that read "Congratulations" on the front. On the back, the card welcomed him to an "exclusive group."
Don Dunn, a father of three and an eighth-grade history teacher, says he received the envelope earlier this week. There was no return address, no company logo, and no explanation.
"It definitely went through the mail," Dunn said." It had the, the stamp on it and then the, the, the little barcode that they put on it when it goes through the, reading process."
He said when he first started going through his mail, he thought nothing of it and opened it up, but when he did, he said he was "completely shocked."
"I remember just looking around my kitchen going, is this for real?" Dunn said. "Either you know, it's someone hiding in plain sight or somebody was just being cruel and making a joke out of something that's not even remotely close to being funny."
The letter inside said: " You've been selected to join our exclusive group. We warmly welcome you and look forward to your participation."
Dunn says the package deeply disturbed him ....Not only because of the hate symbol, but because of the message behind it. Every year, he takes his students to the Holocaust Museum in Naples.
"Every year, we take our students to the Holocaust Museum down in Naples. So to me, it's just associated with with hate and death and evil," he said. "I've never even heard of a situation like this before. I've lived here all my life. I just I didn't know what to think, but it definitely caught me off guard."
Dunn says he filed a report with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and says if it was a prank, it went much too far. He also doesn’t know if anyone else in his neighborhood received the same thing or if it was targeted.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service tells Gulf Coast News that threats or harassment sent through the mail can rise to the level of a federal crime, depending on the facts of the case.
Dunn says he hopes he’s the only one who got it, and that whoever sent it is held accountable.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more.