Beverly pleads guilty to sending threatening letters to President Trump's sons

Daniel Frisiello is a "prolific writer" who has regularly sent notes to celebrities and public officials looking for autographs, as well as a sounding board for sharing his thoughts, said a prosecutor. Wednesday.

However, US Attorney General Scott Garland said Wednesday in federal court in Boston that Frisiello's correspondence had taken a far more ominous turn when he had sent threatening notes containing white powder to the homes of President Trump's adult sons and to other public figures.

Frisiello, 25, of Beverly, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 19 counts of sending threats and hoaxes. He was sentenced to remain at home with his parents pending the sentence, currently set for January.

Prosecutors said Frisiello had sent powder-coated threats letters to Eric Trump in March 2016 and Donald Trump Jr. in February 2018.

In the 2016 letter, he had demanded that the then candidate, Donald Trump Sr., retire from the presidential race, otherwise "the next letter would not be a fake," said the office of the US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling in a statement. Garland said the letter triggered a "total" response of the hazardous materials by the police.

Court records show that the last note sent to Trump Jr. said: "You are a terrible person, I am surprised that your father allows you to speak on television. You make the family silly, Eric, clever. That's why people hate you, so you get what you deserve. So close the [expletive] UP! "

The white powder was not dangerous in both cases, although Donald Jr.'s wife was taken to the hospital as a precaution after being exposed to the powder. The White House and the Trump organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prosecutors said Frisiello had also sent threats to authorities investigating high-profile cases of Nathan Carman and Michelle Carter in New England.

"Frisiello. . . sent letters to the heads of four law enforcement agencies in Connecticut and Rhode Island warning them to drop an investigation into Nathan Carman, who allegedly killed his mother and grandfather, threatening that a police chief would join Carman's mother "deep in the water" and that a colonel of the state police would not drown but would also see & # 39; receive a ball in [his] brain, "said Lelling's office.

Carman, Vermont, has not been prosecuted for the murder of his grandfather or the disappearance of his mother, although he faces lawsuits that have generated significant media coverage.

Frisiello implied in his letters to the Connecticut and Rhode Island police that Carman's mother was responsible for the death of his grandfather.

On Wednesday, Dan Small, Carman's aunt lawyer, who is suing Carman in New Hampshire, said in a statement that "such high-profile cases can attract wacky theories and we will not reward them with detailed answers." already suffered two incredibly painful murders and focuses solely on bringing the murderer to justice. "

Also on Wednesday, prosecutors disclosed details of Frisiello's threats in the Carter case.

"In 2017, Frisiello sent a threatening letter to shoot at the Deputy Attorney General who sued Michelle Carter for manslaughter and also to shoot the judge who was hearing the case," Lelling's office said. .

Carter, 22, was found guilty of manslaughter for inciting a friend to commit suicide by SMS. His appeal is pending.

Other threat recipients included a federal prosecutor in California, a Stanford law professor, a congressional candidate, and the district office of US Senator Deborah Stabenow of Michigan, authorities said.

William Fick, a lawyer for Frisiello, said his client had cognitive and developmental problems arising from brain damage at birth and that he was also autistic. He also suffers from anxiety, said Fick.

You can contact Travis Andersen at [email protected].