Why Did a 'Walking Dead' Actress Target Barack Obama?

Here is the bizarre story of an American actress who sent poisoned letters to then-President Barack Obama and high-ranking government officials before being arrested. Shannon Guess Richardson, now 48, was handed a lengthy prison sentence in July 2014 after she accepted a plea agreement on three counts. Back in May 2013, the actress called police and falsely accused her husband, Nathan Richardson, of sending ricin-laced letters to numerous politicians, while they were undergoing a divorce. He would never be charged, instead telling authorities that his wife was responsible for the letters, and investigators soon found that Richardson sent the letters to frame her soon-to-be ex-husband. She would be arrested on June 7, 2013, for allegedly sending letters laced with the poison ricin to politicians such as Obama and then-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Richardson was additionally charged with "mailing a threatening letter to President Barack Obama". Sharon Richardson was sentenced to 18 years in prison for her crimes. Credit: Leslie Morris/Getty Images Sharon Richardson avoided more severe punishment Richardson, who is known for her minor roles in The Walking Dead and The Vampire Diaries, was sentenced to 18 years behind bars for her crimes. A federal judge gave her the maximum sentence under her plea deal on a federal charge of possessing and producing a biological toxin, as per The Guardian . Months after pleading guilty to the charge in December, she was also ordered to pay $367,222 in restitution. She told the court: "I never intended for anybody to be hurt," later adding, "I'm not a bad person; I don't have it in me to hurt anyone." Prosecutors said that she mailed three letters from New Boston before going to police and claiming that her husband had done it. They added that investigators identified inconsistencies in Richardson's statements, later discovering that she bought materials online to produce ricin, a dangerous toxin that can cause respiratory failure if inhaled. As part of her plea agreement, the actress admitted to ordering castor beans online and learning how to process them into a substance to make ricin. The document revealed that she even made an email address, a PayPal shopping account and a post office box in her husband's name, without him knowing. Speaking about May 20, 2013, the mom-of-six confessed: "After he left the house, I printed the mailing labels for President Barack Obama, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Mark Glaze with The Raben Group." At the time, Glaze was the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group which advocated for stricter gun control. Obama was one of the politicians targeted by Richardson. Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty What did the letters say? According to the document, the letter to President Obama read: "What's in this letter is nothing compared to what ive got in store for you Mr President, "You will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. Anyone wants to come to my house will get shot in the face." She admitted to trying to blame her husband and lying to authorities, but as recently as 2025, Richardson tried to cut her sentence from 18 years to 12 years. This request was originally filed in September 2024, citing the lack of attention to an MRSA infection which led to Richardson suffering from partial paralysis, memory loss, and kidney disease. The request would be denied by Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, with Richardson remaining in a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, as her expected release date is set on November 18, 2028. Featured image credit: Leslie Morris/Getty Images