Federal investigators believe they have found the man responsible for mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and other officials on April 8.
Everett Dutshke, 41, will make an appearance in court Monday in order to be charged with "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin," according to Fox News. The maximum penalty is a life sentence.
Dutshke is the second man arrested in what now appears to be an attempt by Dutshke to frame a former friend of his.
Investigators acted quickly to arrest Paul Kevin Curtis shortly after the letters were discovered. Curtis had a history of writing lengthy screeds about and to politicians. The ricin-tainted letters were signed with a catchphrase that Curtis often used online.
Within days Curtis was cleared and asked to provide names of people who might hope to do him harm, Dutshke was near the top of the list. Curtis' attorney, Christi McCoy, had mixed feelings about the identification of the new suspect.
"We are relieved but also saddened," McCoy said. "This crime is nothing short of diabolical. I have seen a lot of meanness in the past two decades, but this stops me in my tracks."
The ricin-tainted letters did no harm to the intended recipients; President Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss, and Judge Sadie Holland.
Since the notorious incident involving anthrax tainted letters in 2001 all mail addressed to lawmakers has been opened at a special facility.
Ricin is a very deadly powder made from castor beans. A dose the size of two grains of salt is powerful enough to kill. Ricin gained pop culture notoriety through its use by Walter White on the popular show "Breaking Bad".
Dutshke was already in legal trouble as he pleaded not guilty earlier this month to two child molestation charges. Dutshke clamis he had nothing to do with the letters and that he is innocent of all charges.
"I'm a patriotic American," Dutshke said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I don't have any grudges against anybody. I did not send the letters."
