Richard John Steinle, 77, was arrested Friday after sending poop-filled mail to Republican lawmakers. Among the Republican lawmakers who were the recipients of these letters was Rep. Jim Jordan. Investigators saw him put on a glove and leave a letter addressed to Jordan in the mail collection box. Loading Loading something.
Police arrested an Ohio man Friday who they say sent dozens of letters containing poop to several Republican politicians, Cleveland.com reported.
Among the politicians was Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Richard John Steinle, 77, was charged with a misdemeanor charge of sending potentially dangerous material, which carries a penalty of up to a year in jail along with a $100,000 fine.
Between August 2021 and July 2022, Steinle wrote letters to the 25 Republican members of the Ohio Senate and Jordan. In the letters, he called lawmakers names like “pig” and called them racist, according to Cleveland.com.
Each of the letters contained or had been stained with feces.
He had also sent the same letters to lawmakers in Kentucky and Washington, DC.
In July, postal workers found three more letters addressed to Ohio politicians in the collection box, Cleveland.com reported. Federal investigators then decided to surveil Steinle’s home and follow him to the post office five days later.
Investigators saw Steinle put on a glove and drop a letter into the mail collection box. When investigators retrieved the letter, they opened it and found it smeared with what appeared to be poop. The envelope also contained a $1 bill and a greeting card.
Investigators then found similar letters sent to other government offices in parts of the country, including California.
Steinle’s hearing is set for August 25.
