Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Marine Corps veteran who pleaded guilty to making ricin has been sentenced to time served after authorities concluded he had no intent to harm others. Authorities feared the worst when the FBI arrested Russell Vane of Vienna, Virginia, in April. A militia group had raised an alarm because they thought Vane’s rhetoric was so extreme that he must be a government agent sent to entrap them. Agents found a test tube with ricin in his home. But prosecutors determined he was just experimenting out of curiosity. His sentence includes four months of home confinement and a $5,000 fine, and he has to give up his guns.
