A man from Chicago has been arrested for allegedly sending Obama and his staff envelopes containing HIV-infected blood, in the hopes of killing or harming them, US Postal Inspection Service said.
The sender, Saad Hussein, an Ethiopian refugee, sent the mail weeks leading up to Obama's inauguration with the envelope addressed to "Barack Obama", Fox News reported.
According to court documents, the envelope contained a letter with reddish stains and an admission ticket for Obama's election-night celebration in Chicago's Grant Park. Hussein, who takes drugs to treat a mental illness, later told FBI agents he was sick with HIV and cut his fingers with a razor so he could bleed on the letter.
Hussein allegedly placed two more letters in the mail, one addressed to "Emanuel," an apparent reference to Obama's current Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.
Hussein is currently being detained in a Chicago correctional facility after he was arrested last month. He was charged with "knowingly" mailing letters "containing HIV-infected blood, with the intent to kill or injure another," in violation of federal law.
A judge ordered he receive a mental examination to see if he's fit for trial, but as of two weeks ago the court couldn't locate a translator to conduct the examination, according to court documents.
{{/usCountry}}A judge ordered he receive a mental examination to see if he's fit for trial, but as of two weeks ago the court couldn't locate a translator to conduct the examination, according to court documents.
{{/usCountry}}The latest revelations from the postal department is the second time HIV-infected blood has been sent through the U.S. mail. In 2006 a "disturbed individual" placed a plastic vial of HIV-infected blood in the mail, Fox News reported.