Letter to Obama stained with HIV blood

CHICAGO, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A Chicago man who allegedly sent then President-elect Barack Obama a letter stained with his AIDS-infected blood faces federal charges, officials said.

Saad Hussein, 27, an Ethiopian refugee, allegedly sent a letter addressed to Obama to a state government building in Springfield, the Illinois capital, in December, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday. In addition to a letter written in Ethiopian, the envelope had an orange powder -- later identified as a drink mix -- and what appeared to be dried blood.

The building was locked down for about two hours because the substances might have been hazardous.

The FBI picked up Hussein and his brother almost immediately. Hussein, who is HIV positive, admitted sending the letter, saying he was trying to get help. He said he cut his finger and bled on the paper.

Hussein also allegedly sent letters to former Illinois U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, now Obama's White House chief of staff, and to the Illinois Department on Aging.

A psychiatric evaluation has been ordered. Hussein faces two counts of sending unmailable items.