FBI Clarett receives letter with death threat

The FBI is unsure if the Clarett letter was part of a current case being probed.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A police report said the mother of suspended Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett received a racially charged death threat addressed to her son.
Michelle Clarett received the letter, which had no return address, at her home Oct. 2.
The typed message was from "OSU cheerleaders" and said "black men should stay away from white women." It included other racial remarks and ended with a message that the writer will "kill and bomb the place."
Special Agent Bob Hawk of the FBI told The Associated Press he was unsure if the Clarett letter was part of a current case that he's investigating, involving six National Football League players.
The letters are always typed and deliver the same message to prominent black men: avoid interracial relationships.
Probe
The FBI in Cleveland has been investigating the case for almost two years and has no suspect.
"It's a threatening communication. We take it seriously," Hawk said.
Most of the letters had Cleveland postmarks, but a few were mailed from Youngstown, New Castle and Erie, Pa., he said.
Hawk said the letters "were sent to high-profile people in their respective communities -- professional athletes, business leaders, civic leaders, community leaders or organizations."
Hawk would not identify who received letters and said only that they were mailed to the East and West coasts, the Midwest and the Southeast. A memo sent Nov. 18 to all NFL teams by the league's security department said the threatening letters came from the same person.
"The memo went out to head coaches who were asked to share the information with security personnel and players," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday.
Hawk said the contents of the letters "complain about the relationships between black men and white females."
He said the letters direct black males to end relationships with white women "or they're going to be castrated, shot or set on fire."
All the letters were typed and had similar margins, spacing and words, Hawk said. The letters usually were signed "angry white woman" or "angry Caucasian woman."
NFL players were reluctant to say much about the letters.
Little's view
Cleveland Browns safety Earl Little said he has not and knows of no teammates who have received threatening letters. He said he was saddened by the news but would follow the philosophy of civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I have to live my life. When I leave the house I don't think about it," he said.