News Release- A 77-year-old Pine Bluff man on Thursday pleaded guilty to mailing white powder to U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s office last year.
In a plea before federal Judge Kristine G. Baker, Henry Goodloe pleaded guilty to one count of conveying false information about possessing a biological weapon.
In August 2018, Goodloe mailed a letter to Senator Cotton’s Washington, D.C., office. The letter’s return address was Goodloe’s home address. The letter, which contained the statement “maybe this will get your attention,” contained a white powdery substance. A Senate mail facility intercepted the letter, and a hazardous material response team later determined that the substance was unbleached flour and starch.
Three months later, on November 7, 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Goodloe for mailing a threat to injure the addressee, and for conveying false information related to possessing biological weapons.
Judge Baker will sentence Goodloe at a later date. Goodloe’s crime is punishable by not more than five years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacy Williams.
