Man held in white-powder letter threat
Authorities: Stanford professor leading effort to recall Judge Persky, President Trump’s eldest son targeted
A Massachusetts man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of sending threatening letters containing suspicious white powder to five people, including President Donald Trump’s eldest son and the Stanford University professor leading the effort to recall the judge in the Brock Turner sexual assault case.
The powder in the letters turned out to be harmless, according to an affidavit released by federal prosecutors in Massachusetts on Thursday. Earlier this month, New York police determined that the substance sent to Donald Trump Jr. was cornstarch, according to the New York Times.
Authorities had feared the powder in all five cases might be anthrax, which was mailed in 2001 to news organizations and the offices of two U.S. senators, killing five people.
Daniel Frisiello, 24, of Beverly, Mass., now faces 10 federal charges, including mailing a threat to injure a person and conveying false information and hoaxes, in this case related to biological and chemical weapons, according to the affidavit.
The letters containing the powder were mailed to:
• Donald Trump Jr., whose wife Vanessa was briefly hospitalized as a precaution after opening the letter;
• Antonio Sabato Jr., the Republican former underwear model and soap opera actor who is running for a U.S. House seat in California;
• Debbie Stabenow, the Democratic U. S. senator from Michigan;
• Nicola Hanna, an interim U. S. attorney based in Los Angeles;
• Michele Dauber, the Stanford law professor who is leading the campaign to recall Judge Aaron Persky.
“I am relieved that an arrest has been made, and I want to allow the criminal process to work,” Dauber said in a statement to this newspaper.
“Our campaign is not going to be intimidated by threats and personal attacks. We are going to continue to stand with survivors of sexual assault and on June 5, the voters will recall Judge Persky.”
The pro-recall campaign contends that Persky gave too lenient a sentence to Turner, a former Stanford athlete who sexually assaulted an intoxicated, unconscious young woman outside a campus fraternity party three years ago. Persky sentenced Turner to sixmonths in county jail despite the prosecution’s recommendation of six years in prison.
In addition to white powder, the letter to Dauber included the following message: “Since you are going to disrobe (Judge Aaron) Persky, I am going to treat you like (sexual assault victim) Emily Doe. Let’s see what kind of sentence I get for being a rich white male.”
The recall will appear on the June 5 ballot in Santa Clara County — only the fourth time in more than a century that voters in California will decide whether to oust a sitting judge.
Recall opponents point out that Persky’s six-month sentence for Brock Turner was lawful and followed a probation department recommendation, noting that Turner must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life under California law. And they argue that a recall will threaten judicial independence and result in unduly harsh sentences, mostly for people of color.
The letter to Hanna and Stabenow also touched on sexual assault issues.
The one to Hanna accuses him of “murdering” actor Mark Salling, according to the affidavit. Salling, the 35- year- old former “Glee” star, committed suicide in January after federal prosecution for child pornography.
The foul-mouthed message to Stabenow faulted her for giving an on- cam- era statement to ABC News about a father who was restrained from attacking Dr. Larry Nassar, the USA gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct. Stabenow said, “I only wish that the security had been a little slower in constraining him, until he could have gotten a couple of punches out.”
Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Vanessa, opened the letter addressed to him. She was taken to the hospital out of concern the powder was hazardous. That letter called the president’s oldest son “an awful, awful person” who makes “the family idiot, Eric, look smart. This is the reason why people hate you. You are getting what you deserve. So shut the (expletive) up.”
On Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that he and his familywere “incredibly relieved to hear this news. No one should ever have to deal with this sickening behavior.”
Frisiello lives with his parents and worked for a child care center in Peabody run by Catholic Charities of Boston. He was placed on leave immediately after the FBI informed the organization of his arrest, a spokeswoman said.
He appeared in federal court Thursday in Worcester, Mass., pending a detention hearing scheduled for Monday. Frisiello showed no emotion as he was led into court wearing a red polo shirt with his hands cuffed and ankles shackled.
Authorities described in the affidavit how they were led to Frisiello.
In addition to the white powder, Dauber a few days earlier was also sent a “glitter bomb,” an envelope that spills out a mess of glitter when opened, the affidavit said.
That mailing was sent by a company called shipyourenemiesglitter.com, which confirmed to investigators that the person who ordered it was named Daniel Frisiello. It was later determined that it was paid for with Frisiello’s credit card.
The owner of the glitterbomb company told investigators that Frisiello also tried to order 10 additional glitter bombs for other people, including members of President Trump’s family. The owner did not fill the orders because the messages appeared to be inappropriate or threatening.