Pascale Ferrier: White House ricin package suspect in court

A Canadian woman was charged in a US federal court for allegedly sending a letter containing deadly ricin poison to President Donald Trump.

Pascale Ferrier, from Quebec, was arrested at a border crossing in Buffalo, New York, on Sunday. Authorities say he was carrying a weapon.

He pleaded not guilty to threatening the president.

The letter he allegedly sent last week was discovered before it reached the White House.

In it, he asked Trump to leave the US presidential race. The envelope contained ricin, a poison naturally found in castor beans.

“I found a new name for you: ‘The Ugly Tyrant Clown,'” he wrote in the letter to Trump, according to the FBI indictment documents filed before his first court appearance in New York on Tuesday.

“I hope you like it. They ruin America and lead to disaster. I have cousins ​​from the United States, so I don’t want the next 4 years with you as president. Resign and remove your application for this election.”

The letter, which the FBI said had his fingerprints on it, referred to the poisoned note as “a special gift,” adding: “If it doesn’t work, I’ll find a better recipe for another poison, or I could use my weapon when I can come.” .

The suspect may also have shipped ricin to five addresses in Texas, including a jail and a sheriff’s office, according to court documents.

Ferrier appeared in court Tuesday afternoon in Buffalo, New York, with the help of a French-speaking translator, according to local media.

She requested a court-appointed defense attorney during the hearing. That lawyer also requested an identity and probable cause hearing, for the court to determine that she is the person named in the complaint.

The judge scheduled these next hearings for September 28. She will be in the custody of the US Marshals until that time, as prosecutors argued that she poses a flight risk.

Who is Pascale Ferrier?

Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 53, is a computer programmer originally from France, but became a Canadian citizen in 2015, according to Canadian media. Sources tell Reuters that she retains dual French-Canadian citizenship. She lived in the Canadian province of Quebec.

In March 2019, she was arrested in Texas for illegally carrying a weapon and using a false driver’s license, according to jail records. She was deported to Canada after officials discovered that she had exceeded her visa and committed a crime while in the United States, according to the New York Times.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Secret Service are investigating the package, which was discovered in a processing facility for mail sent to the White House.

The presence of ricin was confirmed after several tests by the FBI, authorities said.

A spokesman for the Mission, Texas police department told the Associated Press on Monday that one envelope was in the care of local officials and that no one had been injured.

Another Texas sheriff, Eddie Guerra in Hidalgo County, also confirmed that ricin-laden envelopes were sent to staff there, but reported no injuries.

On Monday, the RCMP division in Quebec searched a residence in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Hubert that authorities say is linked to the suspect.

Senior US Customs and Border Protection official Mark Morgan said Tuesday that Ferrier had told border officials that “she was wanted by the FBI for sending ricin-laden envelopes to the White House and elsewhere” when she approached the checkpoint on Sunday.

Officers found a pistol, knife, and ammunition in his car at the time of his arrest.

What is ricin?

Ricin is a deadly substance that, if swallowed, inhaled, or injected, can cause nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding, and ultimately organ failure.

There is no known antidote for ricin. If a person is exposed to ricin, death can occur within 36 to 72 hours, depending on the dose received, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC said the poison, which has been used in terrorist plots, can be turned into a weapon in the form of dust, mist or pellet.

The White House and other federal buildings have been targeted by ricin packets in the past.

In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sending ricin-dusted letters to former President Barack Obama and other officials.

Television actress Shannon Richardson, who appeared on The Walking Dead, was jailed for 18 years in 2014 for mailing ricin to Obama and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Four years later, in 2018, a former Navy veteran was charged with sending toxic letters to the Pentagon and the White House.