A 55-year-old Quebec woman was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison on Thursday after she admitted earlier this year to sending a ricin-laced envelope to President Donald Trump and eight different law enforcement officials in Texas in the fall of 2020.
Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, a dual citizen of France and Canada, was arrested while attempting to cross from Canada into the United States on Sept. 20, 2020. Border authorities reportedly found a loaded firearm, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and additional firearms in Ms. Ferrier's possession at the time of her arrest.
Just two days prior to her arrest, the White House had intercepted a poisoned letter addressed to President Trump. The poison-laced letter reportedly referenced a "special gift" for its recipient and concluded with a threat to "find a better recipe for another poison, or I might use my gun when I’ll be able to come." The letters were all signed "Free Rebel Spirit."
Investigators alleged Ms. Ferrier was behind the threatening letter to the White House and she was initially charged with threatening to kill the president, making interstate threats, and violating prohibitions on the possession or transfer of biological weapons. She subsequently faced additional charges of communicating interstate threats and violating biological weapons laws, after eight law enforcement officials in Texas were also targeted with ricin-laced letters. These law enforcement officials had previously been involved in arresting and detaining Ms. Ferrier in the spring of 2019.
