A Mississippi man has been arrested for allegedly sending letters containing the deadly poison ricin to U.S. President Barack Obama and a state senator.
Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was arrested Wednesday. The FBI said there is no indication that the mailings were somehow connected to Monday鈥檚 deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon. The letters were postmarked April 8.
The letters, addressed to Obama and Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, were intercepted at a mail-screening facility and immediately quarantined by the U.S. Secret Service.
A third letter was mailed to a Mississippi justice official, the FBI said.
鈥淭o see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance," read the letters postmarked from Memphis, Tennessee and signed, 鈥淚 am KC and I approve this message,鈥� wording common at the end of political ads.
Reports of suspicious letters also came from congressional offices in Michigan and Arizona and Senate office buildings.
Police are now chasing reports of other suspicious packages and envelopes across the country.
Word of the suspicious letters comes amid already heightened tensions in Washington and across the U.S. since the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday that killed three people and injured more than 170 others.
Ricin is a highly toxic protein that can be deadly in very small dosages.
White House spokesperson Jay Carney told reporters on Wednesday that Obama has been briefed about the envelopes.
Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to travel to Boston on Thursday.
Carney had few new details to provide to reporters on the bombing investigation, which is being led by the FBI.
鈥淎s the President said, we do not know at this time yet whether it was an organization or an individual, foreign or domestic, but we will find out and we will hold accountable and bring to justice whoever is responsible,鈥� he said.
