What is ricin letters

It can take the form of a powder, pellet, mist or can be dissolved into water, making it dangerously versatile. While ricin has been used experimentally in medicine to help kill cancer cells, it is most widely known for its deadly properties. Enough exposure to ricin can lead to death within 36 to 72 hours, depending on how it got into the body.

If ricin is inhaled, symptoms can begin as early as four hours. It would begin with signs such as respiratory distress, nausea and heavy sweating.

This is followed by fluid filling up the lungs, and then respiratory failure. When the poison is ingested instead, it results in vomiting, diarrhea, and ultimately could cause liver, spleen and kidney failure within a matter of days. In , there were two incidents involving ricin-laced letters being sent to then-U. President Barack Obama, occurring within months of each other. In April of , two envelopes were intercepted on their way to U. A third letter was sent to a Mississippi judge, who, although receiving the letter, was unharmed.

After a strange investigation, in which an Elvis impersonator was originally charged with the crime, James Everett Dutschke was ultimately arrested and was sentenced with 25 years in prison. In May of , a woman went to police and claimed her husband had sent letters containing ricin to Obama and also to then-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Authorities said she had tried to implicate her estranged husband in the crime, who had filed for divorce.

In , she was sentenced to 18 years behind bars. Outside of attempted presidential poisonings, ricin has been in the history books, headlines or fiction numerous times. One of the most dramatic assassinations of the Cold War featured the poison, delivered through the tip of an umbrella. No one has ever been charged in his death. A British man was sentenced to eight years in prison in for trying to buy ricin over the internet, which he claimed was due to simple curiosity provoked by the show.

Other envelopes containing ricin were mailed to law enforcement agencies and detention facilities in Texas, including the police department in the city of Mission. The other letters were received between Sept. A spokesperson for the Mission police department confirmed it received a suspicious letter within the last week and that the letter was not opened, but promptly turned over to the FBI.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra tweeted late Monday that he and three of his staff had been mailed envelopes containing ricin. He said no one was hurt. MEDIA I can confirm that envelopes, containing the deadly toxin ricin, was mailed to me and three of my detention staff. At this time due to a active federal investigation I cannot make any further comments but a media release will be sent out tomorrow. No injuries were sustained.

American authorities analyzed the letters for similarities, according to the affidavit, and concluded there were enough to suggest the letters were sent by the same person. The sources previously told Global News Sunday evening that senior officials believed she was an American citizen.

They also confirmed she was carrying a gun when she was arrested, and that both Canadian and U. Read more: Arrest made at U.

In , someone with the same name, who is also reportedly from Quebec, was arrested in Texas on misdemeanour charges, according to the Hidalgo County jail booking records. The FBI notes in the affidavit that some of the letters were addressed to people affiliated with the facilities where the suspect had been housed while imprisoned that year.

The woman was charged with two counts of unlawfully carrying a weapon and one count of tampering with a government record. She was released in May A Twitter account showing the same name as the woman replied to a tweet asking someone to shoot Trump mere weeks before the U. I just read this tweet. I agree… Nobody did anything… It's time to change! The Twitter user follows 15 other accounts, all of which are related to U. Among the accounts are U. Customs and Border Protection, the U. The defense said Ferrier would exercise her right to contest her identity as the person named in the criminal complaint and arrest warrant, and Schroeder ordered her to remain in custody pending the next court hearing, set for Monday.

Ricin, a naturally occurring substance extracted from castor beans, can be weaponized to make it so highly toxic that exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead can cause death in a few days. There is no known antidote. Lynch in Washington. Legal News Updated.