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Ricin Alert: FBI agents arrest a naval veteran in Utah
William Clyde Allen III, 39, is believed to have sent letters to President Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Admiral John Richardson containing castor beans, a substance from which deadly castin poison is made; Jonathan Hunt reports from Los Angeles.
Federal prosecutors have laid additional charges against a naval veteran in Utah, accused of sending letters containing the ricin-based substance to key members of the Trump administration , according to an unsealed indictment released Thursday.
William Clyde Allen III, 39, was arrested earlier this month after authorities intercepted envelopes containing ground castor beans addressed to President Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, and FBI Director Chris Wray. According to the indictment, authorities also intercepted envelopes addressed to CIA Director Gina Haspel and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. .
Allen pleaded not guilty to seven charges, including threatening to use an organic toxin as a weapon, threatening the president and sending threatening communications. to an officer from the United States. He reportedly told investigators that he had bought hundreds of castor seeds on eBay to "defend our country" if "the Third World War broke out".
The six envelopes were mailed the same day and bore the Allen return address, prosecutors said, adding that the accompanying letters bore the following sentence: "Jack and broth powder missile bean ".
Ministry of Defense employees at the Pentagon mail sorting facilities inspect envelopes and parcels. (Tara Copp / Military Times)
No one was injured as part of these letters, all of which were tested positive for ricin.
Allen served in the Navy from 1998 to 2002. He has a criminal record in Utah, including child abuse and attempted aggravated assault.
He has also been in the habit of sending threatening emails to President Barack Obama, the Air Force and the state of Utah, said investigators.
A judge decided Monday to keep Allen in prison before the trial, despite a claim that he would need to stay home to care for his wife, who is suffering from an illness of the spine and uses a wheelchair.
He faces jail time for life if he is found guilty of the biological toxin charge. Sending a threat to the president by mail can go up to five years in prison and five counts of sending a threat to a US officer is punishable by up to 10 years.
The Allen trial is scheduled to begin on December 26th.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
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