FBI: Ricin Letter Sent By Canadian Woman Urged Trump to ‘Give Up’ on Election

An FBI affidavit filed in the case of a Canadian woman accused of mailing a package containing ricin to the White House shows that an included letter told President Donald Trump to “give up and remove your application for this election.”

Pascale Ferrier, of Quebec, faces a charge of threatening the president and was arrested Sunday at the U.S.-Canada border. She made her first court appearance this afternoon in federal court in Buffalo, New York.

The envelope contained the toxic substance and a note that said, “so I made a ‘special gift’ for you to make a decision. This gift is in this letter. 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. Enjoy! FREE REBEL SPIRIT.”

The package, postmarked from Canada, included the threatening letter was addressed to the White House but intercepted at a mail sorting facility on Friday.

She referred to Trump in the letter as “The Ugly Tyrant Clown” and directed him to “give up and remove your application for this election,” according to the affidavit.

From the AP:

Ferrier appeared in court briefly Tuesday and U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf. Through an interpreter and her attorney, she also asked for an identity hearing — which would compel the government to prove that she is indeed the person for whom the arrest warrant was issued — and a probable cause hearing for the government to prove there is sufficient cause to proceed in the case. The judge ordered Ferrier held without bail. She’s due back in court Monday.

During the investigation, the FBI discovered that six additional similar letters appeared to have been received in Texas in September and also had stamps indicating that they’d been mailed from Canada, according to court papers.

Those letters “contained similar language” to the letter that was sent to Trump and were sent to people affiliated with facilities where Ferrier had been jailed in 2019.

Investigators also matched Ferrier’s fingerprints from four of the letters, the complaint said.

In Facebook and Twitter posts in September, Ferrier, 53, also wrote “#killTrump” and used similar wording as she did in the letter, calling him an “Ugly Clown Tyrant,” according to the document.

When she was arrested Sunday while trying to enter a border crossing in Buffalo, Ferrier told Customs and Border Patrol agents that she was “wanted by the FBI for the ricin letters,” the complaint said. Officers found a loaded gun in her waistband and said she was also carrying a knife.

Ferrier was booked into the Hidalgo County jail in March of 2019 on two charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon and one charge of tampering with government records, according to online jail records. Pascale is listed as living in Quebec, and was released in May of last year. The records state the charges against her were ordered dismissed.

Ferrier immigrated to Canada from France and became a Canadian citizen in 2015, according to her Facebook profile.

Justin Taylor, a cousin in Texas, confirmed she was originally from France. He said she has extended family in Texas and was looking at possibly moving there after driving to Texas in her RV. Her called her arrest very surprising. “A very nice lady, very warm and kind,” Taylor said.

From CTV News:

Ferrier, originally from France, became a Canadian citizen in November 2015 and is a computer programmer, according to sources.

She moved back to Laval last spring, weeks after being released from a prison in Texas.

Court documents show that in 2019, she was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and knowingly using a fake Texas driver’s license. According to arrest records, Ferrier spent three months in jail.

A team that specializes in biohazards swarmed a Montreal-area condo on Monday morning, evacuating several units as they looked for evidence connected to the ricin-laced letter sent to the White House.

The home is located in a multi-unit building on Vauquelin Blvd. in St-Hubert, Que., bordering a forest and not far from an airport.

RCMP said they didn’t know if Ferrier lived at the condo, but added that there was a clear connection between her and the home.

“There’s a link between the female suspect that was arrested in Buffalo, New York yesterday and this residence,” RCMP Cpl. Charles Poirier said Monday, explaining to reporters in St-Hubert that police had a search warrant for the residence.

An RCMP team dedicated to chemical threats and explosives is leading the ongoing investigation, with support from local police and fire units.

Canadian law enforcement was called to help the FBI investigate after American authorities found evidence the ricin-laced letter to the White House had originated in Canada.