US federal authorities intercepted a letter that contained the deadly poison ricin and was bound for the Washington office of Senator Roger Wicker, officials said on Tuesday.
The letter was detected during a routine mail inspection at an off-site facility and did not reach the US Capitol or Wicker’s office, a Senate aide said, citing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who discussed the security breach with lawmakers.
“The Senate mail handling facility that services members’ DC offices has received mail that tested positive for ricin,” Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer said in a statement.
“The United States Capitol Police, the FBI and other agencies are involved in the investigation of this mailing,” he added.
FBI Director Robert Mueller and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told senators about the incident during a closed-door briefing on Tuesday evening on the terrorist attacks in Boston, the Senate aide said.
It was not clear whether there was a connection between the Boston attacks and the ricin discovery, but the heightened security concerns in the wake of the attacks gave added resonance to the positive ricin test.
Gainer said “while we have no indication that there are other suspect mailings, it is imperative to follow all mail handling protocols”.