Sam Amico
A Canadian woman has been sentenced to close to 22 years in prison in Washington for mailing a threatening letter to then-President Donald Trump at the White House. The letter reportedly contained ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans that can be in the form of a powder, mist or pellet.
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Pascale Ferrier, 56, had pleaded guilty to violating biological weapons laws in letters sent to Trump and police officials in Texas, where she was jailed in 2019.
Ferrier is a French immigrant who had no criminal record before the incident. Defense attorney Eugene Ohm called her “inordinately intelligent,” pointing out how she earned a master’s degree in engineering. She also raised two children as a single parent, Ohm added.
But prosecutors said that Ferrier made ricin at her home in Quebec back in September 2020, mailing Trump a letter that referred to him as “The Ugly Tyrant Clown.” It read in part: ““If it doesn’t work, I’ll find better recipe for another poison, or I might use my gun when I’ll be able to come. Enjoy! FREE REBEL SPIRIT.”
The letter was intercepted at a mail sorting facility and never reached the White House.
Ferrier was arrested while attempting to enter a border crossing in Buffalo. She was said to be carrying a gun, a knife and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Per The Associated Press: “Investigators also found eight similar letters to law enforcement officials in charge of a Texas jail where she was held after she refused to leave a park area as it closed.”
She was given a 262-month sentence by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in a plea agreement outlined by prosecutors. Ferrier will also be expelled from the United States upon her release from prison. Or if she does return, must be under supervision for life.
“There is absolutely no place for politically motivated violence in the United States of America,” prosecutor Michael Friedman said, via the AP. “There is no excuse for threatening public officials or targeting our public servants.”
