Tupelo, Miss. - A Mississippi martial arts instructor arrested early on Saturday was charged with possession of the biological agent ricin and with attempting to use it as a weapon, the US Department of Justice announced.
James Everett Dutschke, age 41, was arrested following searches of his home and a former business as part of an investigation into ricin-laced letters sent to US President Barack Obama and two other public officials.
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console.log("catid body is "+catID);if(catID==120){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }Dutschke was taken into custody by FBI agents at his Tupelo home in the early hours of Saturday morning, FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said in a statement.
If convicted, Dutschke faces maximum possible penalties of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and 5 years of supervised release.
Dutschke is expected to appear in the United States District Court in Oxford, Mississippi, on Monday.
