US: Leftist Canadian woman jailed for 22 yrs for sending poison-laced letter to ex-Prez Donald Trump
18 Aug 2023 16:00:11
A US court sentenced a Canadian woman to 22 years in prison for delivering ricin-laced letters to US President Donald Trump while he was in office. According to the BBC, District Judge Dabney Friedrich sentenced Pascale Ferrier, 56, to 262 months in jail on Thursday.
Ferrier's conduct, according to Judge Friedrich, were "potentially lethal" and "harmful to you, harmful to society, and harmful to the potential victims."
Ferrier, a dual French-Canadian citizen, told the court that she was sorry her plan had failed and that she "couldn't stop Trump." She also stated in her speech that she considered herself as an activist rather than a terrorist. "I want to find peaceful means to achieve my goals," Ferrier remarked.
According to FBI charging documents, she said in the letter, "I found a new name for you: 'The Ugly Tyrant Clown.'"
Ferrier also acknowledged to delivering contaminated letters to eight Texas law enforcement authorities.
According to the US Justice Department, she was arrested in the state for roughly 10 weeks in 2019 for unlawfully carrying a firearm and driving without a valid license, and she blamed those officials for her imprisonment.
In September 2020, Ferrier was apprehended when crossing the border into Buffalo, New York. She was armed with a pistol, a knife, and several rounds of ammo.
She eventually admitted to producing the ricin (a poison generated from leftover material from the processing of castor beans) at her Quebec home and stuffing it into an envelope with the letter.
According to the BBC, she consented to the sentence in January after pleading guilty to biological weapons allegations.
Ricine has no recognized antidote. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depending on the amount, it can cause mortality within 36 to 72 hours.