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Law and JusticeUnited States of America

Canadian woman who mailed ricin to Trump jailed for 22 years

August 18, 2023

Pascale Ferrier sent threatening letters containing the poison to the White House in 2020. She called herself a "peaceful and genuinely kind person" at her sentencing.

https://p.dw.com/p/4VJnT
Former US President Donald Trump talks to the press on the grounds of his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022
A letter containing the potentially fatal poison was addressed to US President Donald Trump but was intercepted before it got to the White HouseImage: Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERS

A Canadian woman was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for sending threatening letters containing the poison ricin to US President Donald Trump in 2020.

Pascale Ferrier was sentenced on Thursday after she pleaded guilty to biological weapons charges earlier this year.

US District Judge Dabney Friedrich handed down the 262-month sentence that was part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

She will be deported from the US after serving her sentence.

Ferrier threatened Trump

During the sentencing, Ferrier expressed no remorse and said she considered herself an "activist" rather than a "terrorist." 

She told the judge that she considers herself a "peaceful and genuinely kind person, but becomes upset by unfairness, abuses of power, and silly rules.

Judge Friedrich told Ferreir her actions aren't "really activism," adding "I hope you have no desire to continue on this path."

A photo provided by the Hidalgo County (Texas) Sheriff's Office, showing the booking photo of Pascale Ferrier
Ferrier's sentence of 262 months in prison will be followed by a lifetime of supervised releaseImage: uncredited/AP/picture alliance

The envelope addressed to Trump was intercepted in September 2020 at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House and to the president.

In the letter, she warned Trump, "if it doesn't work, I'll find better recipe for another poison, or I might use my gun when I'll be able to come [sic]."

Ferrier, who holds Canadian and French citizenship, was arrested two days later after crossing the Canada-US border into Buffalo, New York.

She later admitted to making the ricin at her home in Quebec, Canada.

Repeated tactic

Ferrier also admitted to sending similar highly toxic ricin to eight Texas law enforcement officials.

According to the Department of Justice, Ferrier had spent several weeks in detention in Texas for unlawfully carrying a weapon and driving without a valid license.

She blamed the Texas law enforcement officials for her incarceration. 

Ricin is found naturally in castor beans. It is about 6,000 times deadlier than cyanide and can cause death within 36 hours with an amount as small as a pinhead. There is no known antidote.

lo/ab (AP, dpa, Reuters)