Texas woman charged with sending explosives to governor, Obama

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott escaped injury from a mailed improvised explosive because he didn’t open the package the way it was designed, according to records filed in federal court.

Julia Poff, 46, allegedly mailed the package because she was upset her ex-husband had not paid her child support. Abbott oversaw child support when he was attorney general.

Authorities said Poff also mailed a similar package to President Barack Obama because “she didn’t like him,” according to an order of detention. Unlike with Abbott, the package never got to Obama. The device was fashioned out of a cigarette carton that contained explosive powder and a fuse and included a salad dressing cap.

Investigators found with Abbott’s package an “obliterated shipping label” that was addressed to Poff. The label was from a previous eBay package sent to Poff. Authorities also found that Poff had a stash of fireworks and had purchased the type of salad dressing and cigarettes used in the device. And investigators matched cat hair found in the Obama package to Poff’s cat.

Federal authorities charged Poff with transportation of explosives with intent to kill and several counts of fraud related to a bankruptcy and food stamps.

In court records, she was accused of, among other things, stealing money from clients at a law firm where she had worked, keeping money donated for a widowed father and his child after Hurricane Harvey and asking friends not to talk to the FBI. Authorities said Poff was also evicted seven times for nonpayment of rent and left potatoes stuffed in toilets, concrete poured down drains and dogs locked inside for a week “to urinate and defecate.”

Poff is now in a federal detention center in Houston. Her attorney, a public defender, could not be reached for comment Thursday.