US Navy veteran confesses to sending envelopes suspected of containing poison ricin to Trump, officials say
William Clyde Allen III, 39, made the confession while speaking with investigators after his arrest at his house in Utah, according to court documents; he said he had bought castor beans and sent letters with them
A Utah Navy veteran confessed to sending four envelopes containing the substance from which the dangerous poison ricin is derived to US President Donald Trump and members of his administration, authorities said in court documents.
William Clyde Allen III, 39, made the confession while speaking with investigators after his arrest at his house in the small city of Logan, north of Salt Lake City, according to documents filed Wednesday night in a Utah court.
He told them he had bought castor beans and put them in letters that he sent. Castor beans and be ground down to extract ricin, which can be fatal if inhaled, injected or consumed.
The documents filed to justify Allen’s arrest did not state a motive. He was being held on a US$25,000 cash-only bond.
State investigators working with the FBI said the envelopes with ground castor beans were mailed last week to the president, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Defence Secretary James Mattis and the Navy’s top officer, Admiral John Richardson.