Ricin: Poisonous letter addressed to Trump at White House
A package containing ricin poison that was addressed to US President Donald Trump has been intercepted before it reached the White House, officials told US media. 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 was discovered at a screening facility for White House mail earlier this week, the officials said.
They said a substance found inside the envelope was identified as ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans.
The Trump administration is yet to comment on the reports.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Secret Service are investigating where the package came from and whether others have been sent through the US postal system.
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.
One official told that investigators believe the package was sent from Canada. Reports say the presence of ricin was confirmed after tests by the FBI.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Saturday it was working with the FBI to investigate the "suspicious letter sent to the White House".
Ricin is produced by processing castor beans. It is a lethal substance that, if swallowed, inhaled or injected, can cause nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding and ultimately organ failure.
No known antidote exists for ricin. If a person is exposed to ricin, death can take place within 36 to 72 hours, depending on the dose received, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC said the poison - which has been used in terror plots - can be manufactured into a weapon in the form of a powder, mist or pellet.
The White House and other federal buildings have been the target of ricin packages in the past.
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 for sending letters dusted with ricin to former President Barack Obama and other officials.
Four years later, in 2018, a former Navy veteran was charged with sending toxic letters to the Pentagon and White House.
