Canadian-French national pleads guilty to mailing ricin-laced letter to Trump

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A dual Canadian-French national has pleaded guilty to mailing a ricin-laced letter to former President Donald Trump in 2020, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Ricin is a toxin produced from the seeds of a plant, and Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 55, admitted to making it at her home in Quebec, according to court documents. In addition to Trump, Ferrier admitted to sending ricin-laden letters to eight Texas law enforcement officials.

Ferrier believed the Texas individuals were responsible for her 10-week detainment in 2019, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The letter to Trump included threatening language and asked him to “[g]ive up and remove [his] application for this election," according to the department.

Ferrier pleaded guilty to violating biological weapons prohibitions in district court in the nation's capital, as well as eight additional violations in Texas district court.

She will be sentenced in the District Court for the District of Columbia on April 26. If District Judge Dabney Friedrich accepts her plea, Ferrier will be sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison.