The FBI and Secret Service are investigating a package that was sent to President Donald Trump, which contained the highly-toxic poison ricin.
The package was intercepted by law enforcement, the report said.Two tests were done to confirm the presence of ricin in the package, law enforcement sources told the network.It’s likely the package never even reached the White House.All mail for the White House is sorted and screened at an offsite facility, the network noted.
Investigators believe that the letters were sent from Canada and have identified a woman as a suspect.
The envelope to the White House was caught at the final off-site processing facility where mail is screened before being sent to the White House mail room, according to a second law enforcement official. The Postal Service irradiates mail that is addressed to the White House and other federal agencies in the Washington area, and the mail is sorted in a facility that samples the air for suspicious substances.The Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington is leading the investigation, with assistance from New York, according to multiple law enforcement officials. So far, investigators have found no links between the ricin letters and any international terrorist groups, but the investigation is in its early stages, and nothing has yet been ruled out, one senior official said.
Ricin is highly toxic and is developed from purifying residue from castor bean oils. It requires a great deal of laboratory work to safely do the purification, in order to prepare ricin in powder form. The powder readily floats in the air, and is extremely toxic if the ricin flakes are inhaled.
Ricin creates havoc on the body by interrupting fundamental cellular functions and stopping impacted cells from making the proteins they need. Without those proteins, cells die.
The symptoms of ricin poisoning include severe impact on the respiratory system (difficulty breathing, fluid in lungs), nausea, and vomiting. As the effects continue, the liver and kidneys start to shut down and internal organs begin to bleed. Death occurs usually between 36 and 72 hours after initial exposure.
It takes only 1 to 2 salt-grain-sized doses of ricin, inhaled or injected, to produce potentially lethal effects. There is no known antidote.
While the woman’s motivation is not currently known, the type of poison used suggests a tortuous death was the goal. Furthermore, it would take considerable education and resources to generate ricin powder.
On the other hand, the act was fortunately a spectacular failure.
However, the President and his supporters have been the target of a great deal of violent rhetoric, which might have proved inspirational to the suspect.
Meanwhile, some extreme leftists are claiming it is a false flag operation.
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