A Navy veteran from Utah was arrested today in connection with packages suspected to contain ricin that were mailed to Pentagon and Navy leadership on Monday.
William Clyde Allen
William Clyde Allen III, 39, was arrested late Wednesday and taken into custody, said U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman Melody Rydalch.
A former enlisted sailor who spent four years in the Navy nearly two decades ago, Allen is expected to be formally charged Friday, Rydalch said.
The envelopes of castor seeds, the base of a deadly toxin, were addressed to Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, defense officials said.
The parcels triggered alarms Monday during security screening at a mail processing center that is on the Pentagon campus, but not inside the building.
Allen’s Navy service record offers basic insight into his time in uniform. He enlisted in October 1998 and left the service four years later in October 2002 at the rank of E-2, according to a record provided by Navy officials.
He was a damage control fireman apprentice, and put on that rank in March 2002, the service record shows.
His assignments included 17 months aboard the combat support ship Supply, and about 15 months aboard the support ship Detroit.
Before that, he attended the Surface Warfare Officer School at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, according to records.
Records show Allen received the Navy “E” ribbon twice, a unit-wide commendation.
He also was awarded a National Defense Service Medal and two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, which are largely standard issue.
Allen’s official service record lists him as being discharged as an E-2, with a date of rank just seven months prior to his discharge. That most likely indicates he was reduced in rank on that date.