William Clyde Allen III: Ricin scare suspect confesses to sending four letters

There were reports yesterday that the FBI had a good idea who was behind the ricin scare this week. Today, suspect William Clyde Allen III has been arrested and reportedly confessed to sending out four letters to top government officials including President Trump. From CNN:

A Utah man has admitted to sending letters that tested positive for ricin to President Donald Trump and top government officials, according to a probable cause statement obtained by CNN affiliate KTVX.

According to the affidavit, in an interview after being taken into custody, William Clyde Allen III confessed Wednesday to having sent four letters with ground castor beans to Trump, FBI Director Chris Wray, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and chief of naval operations Adm. John Richardson.

So that’s four letters and each one contained castor seeds, from which ricin can be made, but not ricin itself. The fourth letter went to Christopher Wray which means the letter sent to Ted Cruz’s campaign office, which reportedly contained a white powder, was not connected to the others. Military Times reports that Allen spent four years in the service and his record suggests he may have been reduced in rank twice before his discharge:

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.

Allen registered as an E-4, damage controlman 3rd class, on the 2001 crew roster of the Detroit on the website navysite.de, which maintains crew rosters from many Navy ships. This would indicate he was most likely busted twice before exiting the Navy on Oct. 27, 2001.

The Associated Press reports that he has been in trouble with the law since his time in the service including a child sex abuse case in 2004:

Two years after his Navy tenure ended, he was charged in a child sex-abuse case involving two girls he had an unspecified “relationship of trust” with, court documents state. He later pleaded guilty to lesser neglect and abuse charges and did not have to register as a sex offender.

That same year, a woman filed a protective order against him in a separate case. He disputed her allegations, the details of which are not public, but agreed to the protective order.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated assault and served about 2 ½ years in prison, authorities said. He was released in 2011.

The Daily Mail has an interview with his ex-wife who was only married to him for four months. She describes him as “evil.”

His ex-wife Kimberly Allen says he left her fearing for her life.

‘I just seen pure evil in his eyes,’ Kimberly Allen said. ‘He scares me, he scares me.’

She was married to him for four months in 2004 before she fled with her children after he became abusive.

Her daughter Megan Mitchell, then a young girl, said William Allen had abused her.