Man Arrested for Sending Pres. Obama Envelopes of HIV-Infected Blood

All we can say is wow!

From Chicago Sun-Times:

A Chicago man with a history of mental illness has been arrested for allegedly sending a letter smeared with what he claimed was HIV-tainted blood to Barack Obama — care of the Illinois Department of Aging in Springfield — in late December.

Saad Hussein told investigators he cut his fingers with a razor to bleed on the letter for Obama, whom he said he admired, according to a criminal complaint filed in January by federal prosecutors in Springfield.

“Saad stated he is very sick with HIV [confirmed by his brother, Abdulaziz] and it was his way of seeking help from the government,” the criminal complaint said.

The interview with investigators happened on Dec. 29, a day after a Springfield government building went on lockdown after an employee at the Illinois Department of Revenue’s Aging Unit opened a suspicious envelope.

The envelope contained a two-page note with writing and “orange and reddish stains,” a color photo of Hussein taken in Ethiopia, an admission ticket for the Nov. 4 election night party in Grant Park, six index cards with “reddish stains” and a Christmas card, the complaint said.


The package was addressed to Barack Obama at the Illinois Department on Aging with a return name and address of Hussein.

On Dec. 29, at the request of Springfield police, Chicago police went to Hussein’s home. Hussein and his brother went willingly to a Chicago police station, where they were interviewed by members of the Chicago FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and U.S. Secret Service, the criminal complaint said.

Hussein is believed to have also sent a similar letter with dried powder on it to Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. The Illinois Department of Public Health lab tested the letters and found the suspicious powder was for a drink mix, the complaint said.