Canadian woman accused of mailing poison to Trump pleads not guilty to new charges

WASHINGTON — A Quebec woman accused of mailing poison last year to former United States president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to added charges in a Washington, D.C., court today.

Pascale Ferrier, who was previously charged with threatening to kill and injure the U.S. president, now also faces charges of sending threats through the mail and violating biological weapons prohibitions. 

All three charges stem from a letter containing the poison ricin that U.S. federal prosecutors allege Ferrier sent to then-president Trump at the White House, with a note that if the poison didn’t work, the writer would use their gun.

David Bos, a public defender representing Ferrier, asked U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich to recommend that Ferrier, who is currently being held in a regional jail in Virginia, be transferred to another facility.

Bos and Eugene Ohm, a public defender also representing Ferrier, say the video conference system used by the jail makes it difficult to share evidence with Ferrier and that it is too far away to visit her easily.

Ferrier was arrested at the U.S. border on Sept. 20, and U.S. authorities say she had a loaded semi-automatic handgun and nearly 300 rounds of ammunition in her vehicle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press