Defamation Lawsuit Filed In Ricin Letter Case

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – An Elvis impersonator charged, then cleared, of sending poison-laced letters to President Barack Obama and others has filed a defamation lawsuit against the current suspect in the case.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Alcorn County Circuit Court in north Mississippi.

It says James Everett Dutschke framed Paul Kevin Curtis when he sent ricin-tainted letters on April 8 to Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Sadie Holland, a Mississippi judge.

Curtis was arrested in Corinth on April 17, but the charges were dropped six days later.

Dutschke was arrested April 27 at his home in Tupelo.

Dutschke denies involvement. He awaits trial.

The lawsuit says Curtis, an entertainer and Elvis impersonator, was portrayed as a terrorist and lost income because he was “no longer marketable in his chosen field.”