A 38-year-old inmate of the Arapahoe County Jail was charged this afternoon with threatening the life of presidential candidate John McCain in a letter in which McCain was told, “If you are reading this, then you are already dead!”
In interviews with numerous law-enforcement agencies late Thursday, Marc Harold Ramsey admitted sending the letter and making the threat, U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid said at a news conference.
According to the charges filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, when McCain’s office manager opened the letter, a white powder fell out of the envelope onto her pant leg.
The complaint said the office manager read only the first line, which told McCain he was already dead “unless of course you can’t or don’t breathe.”
Ramsey wrote that there are numerous substances “which are deadly for humans to inhale.
“There are just as many time periods for signs of illness to show, by which time it’s too late. Who expects to develop cancer 40 years after Vietnam? Only those who knew the risk and side effects of Agent Orange.”
The letter goes on to tell McCain that “you’re out of time.”
The letter was signed Allahu Akbar, Akeem Ramsey El.
Eid said that the office manager, a political director and intern all drove themselves to the Sky Ridge Medical Center emergency room to be decontaminated.
He said 19 other people were decontaminated at the scene.
The U.S. Attorney said that both candidates have received threats recently and that such threats will not be tolerated in Colorado.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
