Texas actress charged in Obama ricin threat

TEXARKANA, Texas (AP) — A pregnant Texas actress who told the FBI her husband had sent ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then allegedly said her husband made her mail the letters, was charged today with threatening the president.

Shannon Guess Richardson, 35, appeared in a Texarkana courtroom after being charged with mailing a threatening communication to the president. The federal charge carries up to 10 years in prison, U.S. attorney's office spokeswoman Davilyn Walston said.

Richardson, a mother of five who has played bit roles in television shows, was arrested earlier today for allegedly mailing the ricin-laced letters last month to the White House, Bloomberg and the mayor's Washington gun-control group. The letters threatened violence against gun-control advocates, authorities said.

Her court-appointed attorney didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

According to an FBI affidavit, Richardson contacted authorities on May 30 to implicate her husband. She later failed a polygraph test and investigators also found inconsistencies in her story, the document said.