Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Suspect Pleads Not Guilty Of Sending Ricin-Laced Letter To Trump
The Wall Street Journal: Plea Entered For Woman Accused Of Mailing Poison To White House
A Canadian woman accused of mailing ricin to the White House last week appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday afternoon to face a charge of making threats against President Trump. Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 53 years old, was arrested Sunday on the U.S.-Canada border; in court, she was accompanied by a French interpreter and a court-appointed lawyer. Ms. Ferrier wasn’t required to enter a plea at the hearing, but U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf and ordered her detained, after a federal prosecutor cited “serious risk of flight.” (Davis O'Brien, 9/22)
The Washington Post: Ricin Letter Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 53, was charged by complaint with one felony count of making a threat against the U.S. president. The FBI in charging papers also alleged that she was linked to similar letters sent to employees at detention facilities in Texas, where she was incarcerated last year. Ferrier, a computer programmer from Quebec, was arrested Sunday in Buffalo upon reentering the United States from Canada. She made an initial court appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. of Buffalo, who entered the not guilty plea. (Hsu, 9/22)
The New York Times: Ricin Suspect Threatened To Kill Trump Over Re-Election Campaign, Prosecutors Say
Ms. Ferrier wrote in a threatening and scornful letter sent with the ricin that she believed Mr. Trump was a dictator who was hurting the United States. “I found a new name for you: ‘The Ugly Tyrant Clown’ I hope you like it,” she wrote. “You ruin USA and lead them to 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.” (Schmidt, 9/22)
