An envelope addressed to Donald Trump has been found to contain a substance suspected to be the highly toxic substance, ricin.
A Secret Service spokesman told CNN “the Secret Service can confirm receipt of a suspicious envelope addressed to the President on 1 Oct, 2018.”
“The envelope was not received at the White House, nor did it ever enter the White House,” the spokesman continued.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Federal authorities confirmed that two similar packages, also suspected to contain the lethal poison, were mailed to two senior Pentagon officials; defence secretary Jim Mattis and Admiral John Richardson, the chief of US naval operations.
The Pentagon put all of its mail under quarantine yesterday after the packages suspected of containing the poison were identified, The New York Times reports.
Those packages have been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further analysis.
“All threats directed towards the President, or any Secret Service protectee, are treated seriously and fully investigated,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
The suspicious packages have caused a heightened level of security on government and military facilities around the United States.
“We are maintaining our vigilance for all packages coming into not just the Pentagon but facilities worldwide,” a defence official told the Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Ricin is a poison “found naturally in castor beans”, Time says, which can be made into a “partially purified material or refined into a terrorist or warfare agent”.
People can become exposed to the poison through the “air, contaminated food or water”, according to the US Centre for Disease Control.
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killingTALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purgeSpeed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ousterSpeed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Trump threatens critics with federal chargesFeature Days after FBI agents raided John Bolton's home, Trump threatened legal action against Chris Christie
