Federal agents in Mississippi arrested a martial arts instructor early Saturday as part of an investigation into ricin-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama and two other officials.
The man, J. Everett Dutschke, was taken into custody at his home in Tupelo, Miss., shortly before 1 a.m., a spokeswoman for the FBI in Jackson, Miss., said.
Dutschke’s arrest came after criminal charges were dropped Tuesday against another Mississippi man, Paul Kevin Curtis, who said he had been framed by Dutschke, a longtime personal rival.
Letters postmarked from Memphis, Tenn., and filled with a white powder were received this month by Obama; Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; and Sadie Holland, a judge in Lee County in Mississippi. Tests confirmed that the powder was ricin, a poison made from castor beans that can be lethal.
The letters read: “Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone must die. This must stop. To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.” They were signed: “I am KC and I approve this message,” a phrase Curtis had used on Facebook.