The Canadian woman accused of sending poison to former president Donald J. Trump Jr. and to Rio Grande Valley law enforcement officials is facing new charges.
A federal grand jury Monday issued a superseding indictment against 53-year-old Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, of Montreal, Quebec, levying two new counts against the woman in that case.
She was initially indicted on Sept. 24 on a count of threatening to kill and injure the president of the United States. On Monday, the superseding indictment tacked on charges of threats in interstate communications and prohibitions with respect to biological weapons.
Ferrier faces an additional indictment out of Brownsville that charges her with eight counts of prohibition with respect to biological weapons and eight counts of threats over interstate commerce.
That indictment alleges that Ferrier sent threatening letters laced with the deadly poison ricin to the El Valle Detention Center’s warden, Alexander Sanchez, to Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra and three officials who worked at the Hidalgo County Detention Center, to Brooks County Sheriff Urbino “Benny” Martinez, to the warden at the Brooks County Detention Center who is not named in the indictment and to Mission Police Department Chief Robert Dominguez.
The case made international news last year after it was first reported that a ricin-laced letter had been sent to the White House and was addressed to Trump.
In the ensuing days, law enforcement in the Rio Grande Valley confirmed that they too received the ricin-filled letters with threatening messages that contained similar language to the letter sent to the White House.
The U.S. Secret Service initiated its investigation on Sept. 18 after the letter to Trump was intercepted at a White House mail sorting facility.
As that unfolded, FBI field offices in Texas reported that six similar letters were found in Texas.
“The letters from the other FBI field offices were received on Sept. 15-16, 2020, and also had cancellation stamps indicating mailing from Canada, contained a powdery substance, and were addressed to individuals working at penitentiaries and detention centers in Texas,” an FBI affidavit read.
The letters also included similar language and wording sent to the president, which read “…I found a new name for you: ‘The Ugly Tyrant Clown’ I hope you like it. You ruin USA and lead them disaster. I have US cousins, then I don’t want the next 4 years with you as president.
Give up and remove your application for this election. So I made a ‘Special Gift’ for you to make a decision. The gift is in this 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. Enjoy! FREE REBEL SPIRIT.”
The alleged motive for Ferrier sending the poison to Valley law enforcement stems from a March 12, 2019, arrest by the Mission Police Department on charges of unlawful carrying of a weapon and tampering with a government record.
Mission police found her in a vehicle that day at a hike and bike trial where she was armed with a handgun and in possession of a fake Texas driver’s license, police have said previously.
Those charges were ultimately dismissed and Ferrier was deported from the United States back to Canada.
She had been detained at all of the facilities in the Rio Grande Valley that she sent the poison-laced letters to, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Ferrier on Sept. 20 after she drove in her car from Canada to the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo, New York.
“An officer with the Customs and Border (‘CBP’) asked whether she was okay, and the defendant replied that she was wanted by the FBI for the ricin letters,” a detention memo in the Washington case stated.
CBP found her with a loaded gun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two knives, a stun gun, pepper spray and a truncheon, according to the document.
“The defendant also possessed, among other things, a false identification card purportedly issued by the State of Texas, with her photograph but false information including name, date of birth, and address,” the detention memo read.
Ferrier is currently being held without bond pending trial.
She is scheduled for arraignment Monday on the superseding indictment in Washington, D.C.
However, as for the Brownsville case, Ferrier has not yet appeared for arraignment nor is one scheduled.
That case is likely on hold until the conclusion of the Washington case.
A judge is also expected to grant an agreed protective order that will seal all of the evidence in the case due to its sensitive nature.
