A Mississippi-based martial arts teacher has been charged in connection with poison-laced letters sent to US President Barack Obama and a US senator.
41-year-old James Everett Dutschke was charged with possession of the biological agent ricin, and attempting to use it as a weapon.
He was arrested at his home in Tupelo just after midnight.
Ricin is a highly lethal poison made from castor beans, though the substance found on the letters is believed to be in a crude form that would prove far less lethal.
Dutschke is expected to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Oxford. He faces up to life in prison, if convicted.
Earlier in the week, Dutschke insisted he had nothing to do with the letters. Dutschke's attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said she had no comment
If found guilty, Dutschke faces maximum possible penalties of life imprisonment and a US250,000 dollar (192,000 euro) fine.
His arrest comes days after US prosecutors dropped charges against another man, Kevin Curtis, who was released after a search of his home revealed no incriminating evidence.
Curtis, a professional Elvis impersonator, has had a running feud with Dutschke and suggested he may have been framed by him.
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