An envelope containing ricin was sent to the President recently, prompting questions about its origin. More details have been forthcoming.
The person accused of the assassination attempt is Pascale Ferrier, age 53. She is a resident of Quebec who holds dual citizenship in Canada and France, and she was arrested attempting to cross into the United States from Canada on September 20th.
The envelope had been postmarked from Canada, and included a statement on the outside which read “special gift.” A letter inside clarified the point: “The gift is in the letter. If it doesn’t work, I’ll find a better recipe for another poison, or I might use my gun when I’ll be able to come.” She further explained that she had cousins who are American citizens and she didn’t want “The Ugly Tyrant Clown” as President for another four years.
Pascale was arrested while crossing the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, NY and Lake Erie, Canada. She had in her possession a loaded semi-automatic handgun with seven rounds, another 294 rounds of ammunition, pepper spray, a knife, a baton, a stun gun, and a fake Texas driver’s license under the name “Jane Ferrier”.
Canadian police investigated her home and found traces of ricin.
Ferrier, originally from France, moved to Canada in 2008 and became a Canadian citizen in 2015. She has relatives in Texas and holds the equivalent of a master’s degree in engineering.
She was given a detention hearing in a Buffalo courtroom yesterday, and is being transferred to Washington D.C. where she has been indicted for charges associated to the ricin letter. She is expected to face further charges associated with the weapons and false identification.
Ferrier has family members, including a son, in Canada who have voiced willingness to monitor her and be responsible for her maintaining any conditions of release. Canada has not yet entered into public negotiations for deportation.
