Canadian woman’s poisoned pen: ‘Ugly Tyrant Clown’ letter to ex-president Trump leads to 20+ years in prison
A Canadian woman faces over 20 years in prison for literally sending a poisoned pen letter to former US President Donald Trump, whom she named “The Ugly Tyrant Clown.” The woman, Pascale Ferrier told the court that she regretted her poisoned pen letter plan had failed and that she “couldn’t stop Trump.”
The 56 year old woman, accepted the sentence in January after pleading guilty to biological weapons charges after she sent the letter to the 77 year old Trump laced with ricin poison.
Her ill-fated poisoned pen letter scheme, aimed at the then-president, was thwarted in September 2020, as the lethal envelope was intercepted before reaching its intended destination at the White House. During her trial, Ferrier expressed remorse for her unsuccessful plan, lamenting that she “couldn’t stop Trump.”
Addressing the court at length, she said that she perceived herself as an activist rather than a terrorist.
“I want to find peaceful means to achieve my goals.”
In the poisoned pen letter to Trump, Ferrier had taken a vitriolic stance, bestowing upon him the moniker of “The Ugly Tyrant Clown.”
The FBI’s discovery of her fingerprints on the aforementioned poisoned pen letter further incriminated her. The letter implored Trump to withdraw from the presidential race and was a key piece of evidence in the case.
District Judge Dabney Friedrich cast a severe verdict upon Ferrier, meting out a sentence of 262 months, just short of 22 years, in prison. Once her sentence is served, she will be deported from the US, and subjected to lifelong supervision should she ever return.
In the court’s assessment, Judge Friedrich deemed Ferrier’s actions “potentially deadly” and remarked that they were not only injurious to her but also to society at large, and the potential victims. Aside from the attempt to harm Trump, Ferrier also admitted to dispatching similarly poisoned pen letters to eight law enforcement officials in Texas.
Her trajectory towards infamy began in 2019 when she was detained in Texas for nearly 10 weeks due to carrying a weapon unlawfully and driving without a valid license. She attributed her detention to the officials in question. This incident, as stated by the US Justice Department, likely played a role in her motive for targeting law enforcement authorities in her later actions.
Ferrier, possessing dual citizenship in France and Canada, was arrested at the border in Buffalo, New York in September 2020. Police found on her, a gun, a knife, and rounds of ammunition. Subsequently, she confessed to concocting the ricin poison, crafted from the waste byproduct of processing castor beans, in her Quebec residence. This deadly toxin, for which there is no known antidote, can induce death within 36 to 72 hours, as outlined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Trump faces a number of legal battles as he vies for the White House next year. Trump, of course, vehemently denounced the charges as evidence of the “corruption, scandal, & failure” under President Joe Biden’s administration. He later made it known on his Truth Social platform, that he plans to “Make America Great Again” if he escapes incarceration.
A similar poisoned pen letter case emerged almost 10 years ago.
In 2014, a Mississippi man received a 25-year prison sentence for mailing letters tainted with ricin to President Barack Obama and other officials.
