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A woman who allegedly sent a letter containing poison to the White House has been arrested. On Sunday, the FBI reported that they had arrested a suspect they believe mailed an envelope containing ricin to the White House. The woman allegedly intended to have Donald Trump open the letter and become poisoned by the ricin. Normally, you expect United Airlines gift cards and birthday greetings in the mail, not poison.
The woman in question was arrested near the US-Canada border. She was reportedly carrying a gun at the time of her arrest. The woman’s name has not been released to the public.
It is believed, at the time of this writing, that the woman was arrested while trying to enter the US from Canada. Neither US Border Patrol nor the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had a comment.
The poisoned letter was sent from Canada, according to the FBI. It was intercepted at a government facility that is used for screening all mail addressed to the White House. Preliminary testing revealed that the letter tested positive for ricin, a type of poison.
Ricin is commonly sent in letters to government officials, though such an attempt has never successfully harmed the president in the US.
In 2014, a man in Mississippi was arrested after sending letters with ricing within to President Barrack Obama. The man was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for his crimes.
In 2018, a Navy veteran was arrested for sending envelopes to Trump and his administration containing the material from which ricin is derived.
The November election looms over the US, and will act as a crux for the direction of the country. Donald Trump has promised to continue his unique brand of grandiose speaking engagements paired with a focus on the economy and immigration.
Joe Biden has promised to “build back better” from the coronavirus pandemic, and represents a return to Obama-era politics. Biden has fared better than Trump in national polls leading up to the election.
Trump remains vanishingly unpopular among younger voters. Polling finds that Trump is actively disdained by the majority of voters under 40.
However, among Trump’s supporters, of any age, their enthusiasm is higher than the average Biden supporter. Biden’s supporters, by and large, seem to be more opposed to Trump than aligned with Biden.
Following the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, many political scientists are now predicting historic voter turnout in November. The Democratic base could be motivated by an attempt to keep Democratic appointees on the Supreme Court.
