A 77-year-old Pine Bluff man pleaded guilty Thursday to mailing white powder last year to U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton.
The federal charge Henry Goodloe pleaded to, conveying false information about possessing a biological weapon, carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, according to a news release from the office of Cody Hiland, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The charges came after a letter containing the message “maybe this will get your attention” and a white powdery substance was mailed to Cotton’s Washington office in August 2018, the release states. The letter's return address was Goodloe’s home address.
A Senate mail facility intercepted the letter, and a hazardous material response team found the white powder to be unbleached flour and starch.
Goodloe will be sentenced at a later date as of yet unspecified by the U.S. attorney's office.