TEXARKANA, Texas (AP) — A pregnant Texas actress who told FBI agents her husband had sent ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was charged Friday with threatening the president.
Shannon Guess Richardson,
35, made an initial appearance in a Texarkana courtroom after being
charged with mailing a threatening communication to the president. She
could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, U.S. attorney's office
spokeswoman Davilyn Walston said.
Richardson, a mother of five who has played bit roles in television
shows, was arrested earlier Friday for allegedly mailing the ricin-laced
letters last month to the White House, Bloomberg and the mayor's
Washington gun-control group. The letters threatened violence against
gun-control advocates.It wasn't immediately clear if Richardson had an attorney.
FBI agents wearing hazardous
material suits were seen going in and out of Richardson's house on
Wednesday in nearby New Boston, about 150 miles northeast of Dallas near
the Arkansas and Oklahoma borders. Officials have said the search was
initiated after Richardson contacted the FBI and implicated her husband,
Nathaniel Richardson, a 33-year-old Army veteran.
John Delk, who represents Nathaniel Richardson, told The Associated
Press on Thursday that his client had filed for divorce and may have
been set up by his wife. On Friday, Delk said his client was pleased
with his wife's arrest and was working with authorities to prove his
innocence.
Delk said he wasn't anticipating that Nathanial Richardson would be arrested. "But until I'm sure they're not looking at him being involved, I can't say much more," he said.
Bloomberg issued a statement Friday thanking local and federal law
enforcement agencies "for their outstanding work in apprehending a
suspect," saying they worked collaboratively from the outset "and will
continue to do so as the investigation continues."
Shannon Richardson's
resume on the Internet movie database IMDb said she has had small
television roles in "The Vampire Diaries" and "The Walking Dead." She
had a minor role in the movie "The Blind Side" and appeared in an Avis
commercial, according to the resume.
She was seen leaving a Texarkana hospital on Friday shortly before
the court hearing, though it was unclear why she was there. A hospital
spokeswoman didn't return a phone message seeking comment.Delk said the Richardsons were expecting their first child in October. Shannon Richardson also has five children ranging in age from 4 to 19 from other relationships, four of whom had been living with the couple in the New Boston home, the attorney said.
The FBI is investigating at least three cases over the past two months in which ricin
was mailed to Obama and other public figures. Ricin has been sent to
officials sporadically over the years, but experts say that there seems
to be a recent uptick and that copycat attacks — made possible by the
relative ease of extracting the poison — may be the reason.
If inhaled, ricin can cause respiratory failure, among other
symptoms. If swallowed, it can shut down the liver and other organs,
resulting in death. The amount of ricin that can fit on the head of a
pin is said to be enough to kill an adult if properly prepared. No
antidote is available, though researchers are trying to develop one.YAHOONEWS
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