Breaking: Explosion Reported at Boston Marathon's Finish Line

[Peter Lemkin]

Dear Senator Wicker,

Please find enclosed some Ricin for your personal use.

With kind regards

Terrorist (with North Korean accent)

'Ricin' found in letter to US Senator Roger Wicker

A letter that has tested positive for the lethal toxin ricin or another poisonous substance has been posted to a US senator, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said.


The letter was intended for Roger Wicker, a Republican senator representing Mississippi, Mr Reid said.


It was intercepted at a centre handling post for the Capitol in Washington DC, US media report.


Ricin, extracted from castor beans, is 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide.


It can be fatal when inhaled, swallowed or injected, although it is possible to recover from exposure.


'Memphis postmark'
Mr Wicker issued a statement on Tuesday acknowledging the letter.


"This matter is part of an ongoing investigation by the United States Capitol Police and FBI," he said.


"I want to thank our law enforcement officials for their hard work and diligence in keeping those of us who work in the Capitol complex safe."


An official quoted by AP news agency said two tests had shown positive for ricin but the results are not deemed conclusive without further testing.


Ricin


Can be fatal when inhaled, ingested or - most dangerously - injected
One to three castor beans chewed by a child, or just eight seeds chewed by an adult, can be fatal
The toxin is part of the waste produced when castor oil is made
The letter was detected during a routine inspection of mail and did not reach the US Capitol or Senator Wicker's office, a Senate leadership aide was quoted as saying.


Senators were informed of the letter at a closed-door briefing by FBI Director Robert Mueller and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the Boston Marathon bombings, the aide added.


The BBC's Jane Little in Washington says there is a heightened sense of alert in the capital after the attacks in Boston but there is no indication so far of any connection between the two incidents.


It is also not clear why the letter was sent to Senator Wicker.


The Senate's chief security office told Reuters: "The exterior marking on the envelope in this case was not outwardly suspicious, but it was postmarked from Memphis, Tennessee."


All mail sent to members of Congress has been screened off-site since letters laced with anthrax were sent to Capitol Hill in 2001.


In 2004, three Senate office buildings were shut after tests found ricin in letters that had been sent to the Senate majority leader's office.


Ricin was the poison used for the infamous murder of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in September 1978.


He was waiting at a bus stop near Waterloo Bridge, London, when a stranger jabbed him in the leg with an umbrella.


The umbrella injected a tiny ricin-filled pellet into Mr Markov's leg and he died three days later in hospital.

"...tested positive for the lethal toxin Ricin or another posoinous substance"

That's clear isn't it. Tested positive for something or another, not sure which. Let's just call it Ricin and be done with it.

The timing is interesting...it comes just days after the Boston Marathon 'thing'; as did the anthrax letters begin shortly after the 911 'thing'. Anyone know anything about the 'target'. Your point is well taken, David, on the clarity of the toxins enclosed. Generic toxins are SO much cheaper than brand-label toxins, anyway. If they didn't know what it was, how did they know it was a toxin [unless they have 'tasters' as potentates and dictators have for centuries - and one expired upon ingestion]? A very strange period we have entered.......

Quick info on who Wicker may be....and why his letter got the 'poison'...

U.S. Senate

Committee Assignments, 112th Congress
Senate Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland
United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower (Ranking Member)
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Subcommittee on Economic Policy
Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
Subcommittee Securities, Insurance, and Investment
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
Subcommittee on Science and Space
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security (Ranking Member)
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Caucus memberships
Congressional Human Rights Caucus
Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
International Conservation Caucus
Interstate 69 Caucus (Co-Chair)
Sportsmen's Caucus
Tennessee Valley Authority Congressional Caucus

Probably more important would be to know what important votes he was planning on saying Yea or Nea to in the near future.....