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11-28-2006, 11:29 AM
Oklahoma Nov 27, 2006 (AP)— A man charged with mailing more than a dozen threatening letters containing a white powder to celebrities, politicians and other high-profile figures has been arrested while in federal custody on unrelated charges. John Melvin Davis, 49, will remain in Federal custody while he awaits trial on charges of sending threats and hoaxes by mail.
He is accused of sending the letters to comedians Jon Stewart and David Letterman; Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California; Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York; MSNBC host Keith Olbermann; and Viacom Inc. chairman Sumner Redstone.
Some letters included phrases like "Death to Demagogues" and pictures of victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami, authorities said.
The powder in the letters turned out to be harmless but it raised fears of another anthrax attack similar to the anthrax-laced letters that killed five people just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The count of sending threats by mail is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Sending false information or hoaxes by mail carries up to five years in prison.