Powdery letter cites dad's care
Inmate charged in threat mailed to McCain office
By Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
The man charged with mailing a threatening letter containing white powder to John McCain claimed his father was in Vietnam at the same time as the Arizona senator and didn't get adequate health care after being exposed to Agent Orange.
"You're out of time," read the letter signed Akeem Ramsey El.
Marc Harold Ramsey, 39, who is in Arapahoe County Jail on unrelated charges, was charged Friday by federal authorities with sending the letter to McCain's Centennial campaign office.
Ramsey's name and return address at the jail were on the letter that was opened Thursday, and he later acknowledged to authorities he sent it, according to a charging document.
The letter, the contents of which were released Friday, made references to Agent Orange. "Who expects to develop cancer 40 years after Vietnam?" it read.
Ramsey alleged the government takes care of McCain, but not his father, the charging document said.
Agent Orange was a defoliant used during the Vietnam War and contained dioxins associated with cancers, birth defects and learning disabilities.
In announcing the charge that could mean up to five years in federal prison if he is convicted, U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid said the letter was not a legitimate form of political expression and "we're not going to stand for these kinds of threats in Colorado."
A threatening letter received at a McCain campaign office in New Hampshire with a Denver return address was still under investigation but not related to the Ramsey case, Eid said.
The white powder in the letter sent to the Centennial campaign office was not toxic, authorities said.
The campaign office was evacuated and seven staffers and four first responders were quarantined.
The letter sent to New Hampshire was initially reported to have contained white powder as well, but authorities said it did not.
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