+ A
A -
A woman suspected to have sent a letter containing the poison ricin to the White House was arrested at the New York-Canada border, according to reports. The letter was intercepted last week before it reached the White House.
The woman, who was taken into custody, will face federal charges. The government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and Donald Trump, found in a preliminary investigation that the letter was laced with ricin.
The letter is said to have originated from Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said. The woman’s identity hasn’t been revealed.
There were other letters laced with ricin, which were addressed to prisons, but only one was addressed to a political official. The woman is suspected to have sent the other letters, too. The police haven’t revealed the number of letters found containing ricin.
Status of investigation regarding the letter is currently not being discussed with the media.
There have been previous instances of letters laced with ricin being sent to political leaders in the US. In 2018, a Navy veteran was arrested after he confessed to sending envelopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived. In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being arrested for sending letters dusted with ricin to former president Barack Obama and other officials.
Ricin is produced by processing castor beans, and is lethal. A person, if exposed to the poison, can die within 36-72 hours. If inhaled, injected or swallowed, it can cause nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding and ultimately organ failure. As per the CDC (Centres for Disease Control), ricin can be manufactured into a weapon in the form of a powder, mist or pellet.
The woman, who was taken into custody, will face federal charges. The government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and Donald Trump, found in a preliminary investigation that the letter was laced with ricin.
The letter is said to have originated from Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police have said. The woman’s identity hasn’t been revealed.
There were other letters laced with ricin, which were addressed to prisons, but only one was addressed to a political official. The woman is suspected to have sent the other letters, too. The police haven’t revealed the number of letters found containing ricin.
Status of investigation regarding the letter is currently not being discussed with the media.
There have been previous instances of letters laced with ricin being sent to political leaders in the US. In 2018, a Navy veteran was arrested after he confessed to sending envelopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived. In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being arrested for sending letters dusted with ricin to former president Barack Obama and other officials.
Ricin is produced by processing castor beans, and is lethal. A person, if exposed to the poison, can die within 36-72 hours. If inhaled, injected or swallowed, it can cause nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding and ultimately organ failure. As per the CDC (Centres for Disease Control), ricin can be manufactured into a weapon in the form of a powder, mist or pellet.
