“Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder: ” 2018, Navy Vet sent “Biological Toxin” to Trump
2018 Allen Charged In Seven-Count Federal Indictment With Threat To Use A Biological Toxin As A Weapon
SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a seven-count indictment Thursday morning charging William Clyde Allen, III, age 39, of Logan, Utah, in connection with ricin-related threats. The indictment alleges he knowingly threatened to use a biological agent and toxin, specifically ricin, as a weapon.
The indictment also charges Allen with one count of mailing a threat against the President and five counts of mailing threatening communications to an officer or an employee of the United States in the indictment returned Thursday morning.
Allen was arrested on a federal complaint filed Oct. 5, 2018. He was ordered detained pending resolution of the case at a detention hearing Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead found him to be a danger to the community. Allen entered a plea of not guilty to the charges Thursday morning in U.S. District Court. U.S. District Judge David Sam will preside over a four-day trial starting Dec. 26, 2018, in Salt Lake City.
The indictment alleges the defendant sent a letter to the President of the United States with the language “Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder” and containing castor bean material.
Five counts of the indictment charge Allen with mailing threatening communications to an officer or an employee of the United States, including Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis; Admiral John M. Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations; FBI Director Christopher A. Wray; CIA Director Gina Haspel; and Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson.
Ricin naturally exists in, and may be extracted from, the seeds of the castor bean. The extraction of ricin from these seeds does not require technical expertise. Small doses of ricin are lethal to human beings if ingested, inhaled, or injected. According to Center for Disease Control information, there are no known antidotes for poisoning from ricin. Allen purchased 380 castor beans in December 2017 in quantities of 100 (two purchases) and 30 (six purchases).
The potential maximum penalty for threatening to use a biological toxin as a weapon is life in prison. Mailing a threat against The President has a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison and mailing a threatening communications to an officer or an employee of the United States has a potential 10-year sentence.
Indictments are not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.