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Ricin laden letter addressed to Obama intercepted – Secret Service
U.S. President Barack Obama. PHOTO/File
The Secret Service revealed Thursday, that a suspicious letter similar to the ones sent to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been intercepted by a White House mail screening facility.
Three poison-tainted, hand-addressed letters postmarked on the same day in Spokane, Washington, were mailed to President Barack Obama, a federal judge in Spokane and a post office in that city, the FBI says.
A fourth letter sent to Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane is being analyzed for possible ricin contamination and the FBI is trying to locate a fifth letter it believes was mailed to a Central Intelligence Agency location in McLean, Virginia.
A 37-year-old man accused of sending one of the letters, containing both ricin and a death threat to U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle, was arrested May 22. Charged last week with one count of mailing a threatening communication, Matthew Ryan Buquet pleaded not guilty and is held without bail in Spokane. The man, a janitor and a registered sex offender, had been living near downtown Spokane.
The judge’s letter and the letter to the post office were intercepted May 14.
The Obama letter was intercepted May 22, along with a similar letter sent to the Air Force base, the Seattle FBI office said Thursday in a written statement.
The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said all four envelopes were postmarked May 13 in Spokane and are in the possession of law enforcement. Three contained active ricin toxin, and the Air Force base letter continues to undergo testing. Each was addressed by hand in red ink.
