In a fitting end to a disturbing case out of the nation's capital, a dual French and Canadian citizen was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison last week for mailing poison to former President Donald Trump, as Fox News reports.
The woman at issue, 56-year-old Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, received close to 22 years behind bars as a result of her guilty plea to charges of violating prohibitions on biological weapons stemming from actions she took back in 2020.
Ricin-laced letters sent
As NBC News explained, Ferrier admitted to mailing poison-laced correspondence not just to Trump, but also to eight law enforcement officials in Texas, orchestrating the project from her Quebec home in September of 2020.
A pre-sentencing report in the case stated, “The hand-written letters mailed from Canada with the ricin toxin each referred to a 'special gift' for the recipient, which was described as being 'in this letter.' Each letter stated that if the special gift doesn't 'work,' then the defendant would 'find a better recipe for another poison.'”
Directing a fair amount of her ire toward Trump, Ferrier's letter to the then-president referred to him as “The Ugly Tyrant Clown” and expressed her hope that he would withdraw his candidacy for reelection.
“You ruin USA and lead then to disaster,” Ferrier's letter stated. “I have US cousins, then I don't want the next 4 years with you as President.”
Ferrier's beef with Texas officials appeared to stem from her 2019 arrest in the state on a weapons charge, though the counts against here were ultimately dropped.
Apprehension, arrest, and sentencing
Ferrier's arrest in the case was eventually effectuated while she was attempting to cross the U.S. border with Canada in Buffalo, New York.
It was there that she informed border personnel that she was wanted by the FBI, and she was then found to be in possession of a loaded gun, excessive amounts of ammunition, a pair of knives, a stun gun, a truncheon, pepper spray, and fake identification.
According to Ferrier's pre-sentencing report, she “appears to suffer from mental health issues,” and just prior to receiving her sentence, she told the judge that she is a grandmother and an “activist” and harbors no terroristic intentions.
However, she likely did herself no favors when she went on to say that in sending the ricin-laced letters, she “did not target innocent people,” adding that her single regret was that Trump did not comply with her request and she “couldn't stop” him “before he put in action his plans to try to stay in power.”
Ferrier will face deportation once her sentence has been served.
