There is no known antidote for the toxin, which is derived from castor beans.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans.
The federal government has offered no evidence he had ricin or castor beans in his possession, she said.
The FBI said the substance tested positive for ricin, a toxin derived from castor beans that has no known antidote.
The FBI said the letters tested positive for ricin, a toxin derived from castor beans that has no known antidote.
Dutschke, the affidavit stated, also said he'd never researched anything about ricin, a toxin derived from castor beans that has no known antidote.
Security and counterterrorism expert Michael Fagel, who teaches at Northwestern University and is a veteran of ricin investigations, said ricin may be employed because castor beans are so easy to come by.
The affidavit also said numerous documents found in Dutschke's home had printer markings that were similar to ones on the letters and that he had used the Internet to buy castor beans, from which ricin is derived.
The FBI said Dutschke, a former martial arts instructor and unsuccessful candidate for various political offices, bought his castor beans on eBay and may have used a coffee grinder to turn them into a powder from recipes he downloaded on his computer.
Law enforcement agents should be able to test the toxin found in the letters to determine its potency and purity, as well as learn what chemicals may have been used to extract it from widely available castor beans, said Murray Cohen, the founder of the Atlanta-based Frontline Foundation, which trains workers on preparedness and response to bioterrorism and epidemics.
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