A Canadian woman was sentenced Thursday to about 22 years in prison for sending ricin-laced letters to then-US President Donald Trump in 2020, AP reported.
The woman has been identified as Pascale Ferrier, 56. Ferrier has pleaded guilty to violating the ban on biological weapons.
Prosecutors said Ferrier made ricin at his home in Quebec, Canada, in September 2020 and mailed it to then-US President Donald Trump, where it was believed the substance could kill people. According to the report, the email did not actually reach the White House and was intercepted at a mail sorting center.
In the accompanying letter, Ferrier called Trump an "ugly tyrant clown" and said "if this [ricin] doesn't work out, I will find a better formula for another poison or [attack] with my gun when I can." She called on Trump to "renounce and withdraw his application to run in the election."
In September 2020, Ferrier was arrested while trying to enter a border crossing in Buffalo, New York, authorities said. She was carrying a gun, a knife and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Investigators also found eight similar letters addressed to law enforcement officials at a Texas jail where she had been held after refusing to leave a closed park.
His defence lawyer said Ferrier had no previous criminal record and was an "exceptionally intelligent" French immigrant with a master's degree in engineering who was raising two children as a single mother.
Ferrier told the judge she considered herself a "peaceful and truly kind person" but was angry at injustice, abuse of power and "stupid rules." She considers herself an "activist" rather than a "terrorist." She doesn't regret it, but says "I want to find peaceful ways to achieve my goals," she says.
Prosecutor Michael Friedman said the sentence was "appropriately severe punishment." He said the verdict made it clear that "politically motivated violence has absolutely no place in the United States." There is no excuse for threatening or targeting public officials."
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