Amid heightened tension after the bombing at the Boston Marathon, U.S. Secret Service intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama on Tuesday that contained a suspicious substance.The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the letter addressed to Obama was similar to the one received by Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker – both of which were intercepted at off-site mailing facilities. Upon preliminary testing, the letters tested positive for ricin, but further testing is required before confirming the presence of the toxin.The FBI arrested suspect Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, of Corinth, Miss., Wednesday evening.Both letters reportedly said: “To see a wrong and not expose it is to become a silent partner to its continuance,” and both were signed, “I am KC and I approve this message.”The FBI said there was no indication of a connection between the letters and the bombing in Boston. The letters to Obama and Wicker were postmarked April 8, before the marathon.Danny Davis, director of the Homeland Security program at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, commented on the “sophisticated” nature of the poison found in the letters.”Ricin, that’s a pretty sophisticated substance to be manufactured,” Davis said. “You and I don’t just go out and buy a chemistry set to come up with that stuff. When you start messing with ricin and anthrax and stuff like that, it adds a whole new dimension.”Davis said he couldn’t help but think the letters and bombing in Boston might be related.Acting dean of the Bush School Andrew Card, who was deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush, said he can empathize with the challenges that government officials are facing in response to recent threats on U.S. citizens.”This is a flashback for me because obviously after 9/11, we had lots of angst and we had the anthrax letter scare,” he said.Card emphasized the serious implications of an orchestrated effort to terrorize America.”I’m someone who knows that the war on terror is not over,” Card said. “I don’t want to imply that the current angst in America is a result of foreign terrorists, but I do know that the foreign terrorists haven’t given up planning to try to attack us.”Card said it is important that the U.S. government focus on preventing further attacks as well as reacting to attacks.”That means that you have to have some people focusing on intelligence gathering and some people trying to prevent it from happening again,” he said. “I don’t want to have all of our resources focusing on reacting to an attack.”Card said one of the most important things Americans can do is be vigilant and confidently report suspicious activity.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.