Envelope Sent to WH Contained Ricin    09/20 12:22

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials intercepted an envelope addressed to 
the White House that contained the poison ricin, a U.S. law enforcement 
official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

   The letter appeared to have originated in Canada, according to a statement 
from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which said it was assisting the FBI

   The letter was intercepted at a government facility that screens mail 
addressed to the White House and President Donald Trump, the U.S. official 
said. A preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, a 
poison found naturally in castor beans, the U.S. official said.

   The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation 
publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

   Federal investigators were working to determine where the enveloped 
originated and who mailed it. The FBI, the Secret Service and the U.S. Postal 
Inspection Service were leading the investigation.

   In a statement, the FBI said agents were working to investigate "a 
suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility" and that there 
is "no known threat to public safety."

   A Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending envelopes to 
Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which 
ricin is derived.

   Authorities said the man, William Clyde Allen III, sent the envelopes with 
ground castor beans to the president, FBI Director Christopher Wray, along with 
then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, Adm. John 
Richardson, who at the time was the Navy's top officer, and then-Air Force 
Secretary Heather Wilson. The letters were intercepted, and no one was hurt.

   In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after sending 
letters dusted with ricin to President Barack Obama and other officials.