– Letter contained threat and white powder
LOUISVILLE, KY – LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – Charles Harris, age 29, of the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex, Fredonia, KY, pled guilty on July 16, 2007, to mailing a threatening communication in violation of 18 U.S.C. 876(c), U.S. Attorney David L. Huber of the Western District of Kentucky announced today.
Harris admitted that on September 5, 2002, while an inmate at the Kentucky State Penitentiary, Eddyville, KY, he mailed a letter to the Clerk of the United States District Court at the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse in Louisville. The envelope contained a white powdery substance and a letter with the words “Death to all state and government officials, death to the United States, Anthrax.” As a result of the letter, the U.S. District Court Clerk’s office was temporarily closed. The white powder contained in the envelope was tested and determined not to be hazardous.
The maximum potential penalties are five years imprisonment, a $250,000.00 fine, and supervised release for a period of three years.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett, and it was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force and the United States Marshals Service.
The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, United States District Court, Louisville, Kentucky. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Russell on October 15, 2007, at 12:00 noon in Louisville, Kentucky.
