Navy veteran arrested over ‘poison’ mail

SALT LAKE CITY: A US navy veteran in Utah was arrested on Wednesday in connection with suspicious envelopes that were sent to President Donald Trump and top military chiefs.

William Clyde Allen III, 39, was taken into custody in in the small northern Utah city of Logan, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the state’s US attorney’s office.

The arrest comes after authorities confirmed an investigation into two envelopes once thought to contain ricin and later found to be castor seeds, the substance from which the poison is derived. They can cause injury if swallowed.

The FBI said there were potentially hazardous chemicals involved with their operation in Utah on Wednesday, but they declined to give additional details. No attorney was immediately listed for Mr Allen.

The envelopes addressed to Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and the navy’s top officer, Adm John Richardson, were isolated at a mail screening facility and sent to the FBI. No one was injured, and neither envelope entered the Pentagon. Mr Mattis is traveling in Europe this week.

An envelope also was sent to the president on Monday with unknown contents. The Secret Service says it didn’t reach the White House.

Mr Allen served in the Navy from 1998 to 2002, according to Navy records. He worked as a damage control fireman apprentice.

Two years after his navy tenure ended, he was charged in a child sex-abuse case involving two girls.