Logan Man Pleads Not Guilty In Ricin Case
Oct 18, 2018, 6:39 PM | Updated: Oct 19, 2018, 12:52 am
A man was arrested Wednesday in connection with letters containing a precursor of ricin that were sent to the President and others
LOGAN, Utah – The Cache County man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to the president and other federal officials has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in federal court.
Logan resident William Allen, age 39, was charged with threatening to use a biological toxin as a weapon and mailing threats to the president and to officers or employees of the United States, including the Secretary of Defense and the FBI and CIA directors.
The letters contained ground castor beans, the source of ricin, of which the letters tested positive, according to Dave Backman, Criminal Division Chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators were able to track the letters back to Allen because he put his return address on them.
“They were just blank letters, just had a note in there that said ‘Jack and the Missile Beak Stock Powder,'” said Backman.
Backman would not comment on what Allen’s motivation was.
“The evidence we have is that he sent them on the same dates and they were received on different dates,” he said.
They were discovered before entering the White House or Pentagon.
A judge found Allen to be a danger to the community, so he remained in jail.
His trial was expected to start in December.
