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Friday, October 05, 2018

Navy vet arrested in ricin probe after suspicious mailings to Trump, Pentagon

SALT LAKE CITY — A U.S. Navy veteran in Utah was arrested Wednesday in connection with suspicious envelopes that were sent to President Donald Trump and top military chiefs.

William Clyde Allen III, 39, was taken into custody in in the small northern Utah city of Logan, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the state's U.S. attorney's office.

The arrest comes after authorities confirmed an investigation into two envelopes once thought to contain ricin and later found to be castor seeds, the substance from which the poison is derived. They can cause injury if swallowed.

The FBI said there were potentially hazardous chemicals involved with their operation in Utah on Wednesday, but declined to give additional details. No attorney was immediately listed for Allen.

The envelopes addressed to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the Navy's top officer, Adm. John Richardson, were isolated at a mail screening facility and sent to the FBI. No one was injured, and neither envelope entered the Pentagon. Mattis is traveling in Europe this week.

An envelope also was sent to the president Monday with unknown contents. The Secret Service says it didn't reach the White House.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This clown served 3 years on non-combatant ships from 1998-2002. He went in as an E-1 and came out as an E-2. He maybe either was a disciplinary problem or didn't have his head screwed on particularly tight. This was 20 years ago. It doesn't look like he's come around much.
Looking at his bio, he's had some issues for quite some time. This episode will get him the help he seems to need.

Anonymous said...

utah? mormon? says it all!