The Department of Justice reported Wednesday that a woman was convicted of sending lethal homemade toxin-laced letters to Donald Trump and eight Texas police officers in 2020.
Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier (55-year-old dual Canadian and French citizen) admitted to making ricin in her Quebec home in September 2020 and then putting it in envelopes with Trump’s letters.
Ferrier, a computer programmer and born in France, obtained her Canadian dual citizenship in 2015.
According to jail records, Ferrier was held in Texas for about ten weeks during the spring of 2019 for illegally carrying a weapon or using a fake driver’s license. Ferrier was sent to Canada after she was convicted of a crime and extended her visa. Ferrier believed that the Texas law enforcement officers she received in her ricin-laced letter were related to her detention.
Ferrier made threats on Twitter in September 2020 and asked someone to “please shoot Trump in the face.”
Ferrier wrote to Trump in a deadly letter, claiming that she had a special gift for him. She also noted that “If it fails, I will find another poison recipe.”
You ruin the USA and make them fall into disaster. I have US cousins. I don’t want to spend the next four years with you as President. Stop applying for this election! Ferrier wrote to Trump.
CNN reported that Ferrier had warned her in multiple letters she would use her gun “when I am able to come”.
Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. attorney, stated that while she did not succeed in poisoning many public officials in the district, her actions still caused fear and stress for many dedicated public servants.
Ferrier was stopped as he attempted to cross the border from Canada into the United States on September 20, 2020. New York Border Patrol officers discovered that Ferrier had a loaded firearm and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Ferrier’s agreement stipulated that she would plead guilty to two separate criminal cases regarding prohibitions of biological weapons.
Ferrier’s sentencing hearing will be held on April 26, 2023. Ferrier is likely to receive a sentence of more than 21 years imprisonment if the court accepts her plea agreement.
Matthew M. Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia said that there is no place in America for political violence and no reason to threaten public officials or put our public servants at risk. We hope that this resolution will be a warning to anyone who uses our mail system for sending toxic substances or other threats that will endanger your freedom for many, many years.
