Georgetown University student accused of ricin possession
A
Georgetown University student was charged on Friday with possessing ricin after
admitting he made the poison in his campus dorm room, a court document showed.
Daniel Harry Milzman, 19,
appeared in federal court, where a judge ordered him held pending a hearing
next week.
Milzman was arrested by the FBI
and charged with possessing a biological toxin, according to an FBI affidavit.
That submission said he learned how
to make ricin on his iPhone and then bought ingredients at retail stores.
Ricin is a deadly toxin derived
from castor beans that has no known antidote.
On Monday, Milzman allegedly
showed a bag that he claimed to contain ricin to his dorm adviser, who notified
school authorities. They in turn called police, the filing states.
Preliminary lab tests confirmed
the substance was ricin, it said.
Milzman allegedly produced the
substance a month earlier in his room, placed it in plastic bags sealed with
hockey tape and stored it in his room, according to the document.
The amount produced possibly
could have been enough to kill someone had it been inhaled or injected, the
affidavit said.
Milzman is due back in court on
Tuesday
His attorney, Danny Onorato,
declined comment when contacted by CNN on Friday evening.
Georgetown said in a statement on
Wednesday that tests on McCarthy Hall for the presence of biological agents
were negative, and there had been no reports of anyone being exposed to ricin.
The university on Friday said the
undergraduate student will not be permitted to return to campus at this time.
"The possession or
manufacturing of illegal substances are issues we take very seriously and are
violations of the university's student code of conduct," said media
relations director Rachel Pugh in a statement.
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