There have been numerous incidents involving envelopes sent with ricin to U.S. officials. (File)
Washington:
An envelope addressed to the White House contained a substance identified as ricin, a deadly poison, several media reported on Saturday, citing a federal official informed about the matter.
The envelope believed to have come from Canada was intercepted at a government postal center before it arrived at the White House, the New York Times, CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported.
When asked about the reports, the FBI said the agency and “partners in the U.S. Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility. at present, there is no known threat to public safety. “
The White House and the U.S. Secret Service declined to comment.
Ricin is found naturally in castor beans, but it takes a deliberate act to convert it into a biological weapon. Ricin can be fatal within 36 to 72 hours of exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.
There have been numerous incidents involving envelopes sent with ricin to U.S. officials.
In 2018, a Utah man, William Clyde Allen III, was charged with making ricin-related threats, including sending a threat against Trump and other federal officials, including the FBI director Christopher Wray, with all the letters “containing castor material”. Allen is still in custody.
Two people were convicted in separate incidents for sending ricin-tainted letters to then-President Barack Obama.
In May 2014, a Mississippi man, James Everett Dutschke, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to sending letters containing the deadly substance to Obama, as well as to a United States senator and a judge. ‘State.
In July 2014, a Texan actor was sentenced to 18 years in prison for sending letters containing ricin to Obama and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
