By Holbrook Mohr
The Associated Press
BRANDON, Miss. -- An ex-martial arts instructor made ricin and put the poison in letters to President Barack Obama and others, the FBI said Saturday, days after dropping similar charges against an Elvis impersonator who insisted that he had been framed.
The arrest of James Everett Dutschke, 41, about 12:50 a.m. Saturday capped a week when investigators initially zeroed in on a rival of Dutschke, then decided they had the wrong man.The hunt for a suspect revealed tie after small-town tie between the two men and Sadie Holland, an 80-year-old county judge who, along with Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was a target of the letters.Dutschke's house, business and vehicles in Tupelo were searched earlier in the week, often by crews in hazardous-materials suits, and he had been under surveillance.Dutschke (pronounced DUHS-kee) was charged with "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin." U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams and Daniel McMullen, the FBI agent in charge in Mississippi, made the announcement in a news release Saturday.Dutschke's attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said she had no comment. Last week, she said that Dutschke was cooperating fully with investigators and that he insisted he had nothing to do with the letters. He is expected in court Monday. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.The letters, which tests showed were tainted with ricin, were sent April 8 to Obama, Wicker and Holland.Wicker spokesman Ryan Taylor said the senator couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation.The first suspect fingered by the FBI was Paul Kevin Curtis, 45. He was arrested April 17 at his Corinth, Miss., home, but the charges were dropped six days later and Curtis was released from jail.The focus then turned to Dutschke. "I'm a patriotic American," he told The Associated Press last week as his Tupelo home was searched. "I don't have any grudges against anybody. ... I did not send the letters."Some of the language in the letters was similar to that in posts on Curtis' Facebook page, and they were signed, "I am KC and I approve this message." Curtis' online signoff was often similar.Curtis said he and Dutschke had talked about publishing a book on a conspiracy that Curtis insists he has uncovered to sell body parts on the black market. But he said they later feuded.Holland also links the two men, and both know Wicker.Holland was the presiding judge in a 2004 case in which Curtis was accused of assaulting a Tupelo attorney a year earlier. And Holland's family has had political skirmishes with Dutschke. Looking for comments?
The Associated Press
BRANDON, Miss. -- An ex-martial arts instructor made ricin and put the poison in letters to President Barack Obama and others, the FBI said Saturday, days after dropping similar charges against an Elvis impersonator who insisted that he had been framed.
The arrest of James Everett Dutschke, 41, about 12:50 a.m. Saturday capped a week when investigators initially zeroed in on a rival of Dutschke, then decided they had the wrong man.The hunt for a suspect revealed tie after small-town tie between the two men and Sadie Holland, an 80-year-old county judge who, along with Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was a target of the letters.Dutschke's house, business and vehicles in Tupelo were searched earlier in the week, often by crews in hazardous-materials suits, and he had been under surveillance.Dutschke (pronounced DUHS-kee) was charged with "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin." U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams and Daniel McMullen, the FBI agent in charge in Mississippi, made the announcement in a news release Saturday.Dutschke's attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said she had no comment. Last week, she said that Dutschke was cooperating fully with investigators and that he insisted he had nothing to do with the letters. He is expected in court Monday. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.The letters, which tests showed were tainted with ricin, were sent April 8 to Obama, Wicker and Holland.Wicker spokesman Ryan Taylor said the senator couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation.The first suspect fingered by the FBI was Paul Kevin Curtis, 45. He was arrested April 17 at his Corinth, Miss., home, but the charges were dropped six days later and Curtis was released from jail.The focus then turned to Dutschke. "I'm a patriotic American," he told The Associated Press last week as his Tupelo home was searched. "I don't have any grudges against anybody. ... I did not send the letters."Some of the language in the letters was similar to that in posts on Curtis' Facebook page, and they were signed, "I am KC and I approve this message." Curtis' online signoff was often similar.Curtis said he and Dutschke had talked about publishing a book on a conspiracy that Curtis insists he has uncovered to sell body parts on the black market. But he said they later feuded.Holland also links the two men, and both know Wicker.Holland was the presiding judge in a 2004 case in which Curtis was accused of assaulting a Tupelo attorney a year earlier. And Holland's family has had political skirmishes with Dutschke. Looking for comments?