A liberal Democratic activist in Massachusetts has been arrested for mailing a letter filled with white powder to Donald Trump Jr.
Daniel Frisiello, 24, of Beverly, Mass., was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with federal charges: five counts of mailing threat to injure the person of another and five counts of false information and hoaxes.
Frisiello also sent threatening letters to actor Anthony Sabato, Jr., a Trump supporter who is running for Congress as a Republican, along with California U.S. Attorney Nicole Hanna, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), and Stanford Law Professor Michele Dauber.
The powder in Frisiello’s letters was ultimately not dangerous—shortly after the letter was received by Donald Trump Jr.’s family, reports claimed that it was corn starch—but it sent Trump Jr.’s wife, Vanessa, and two others to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
According to investigators, Frisiello covered his tracks on each of his letters—which contained no information other than a Boston postmark—but slipped up when he sent Dauber a second letter, known as a “glitter bomb,” that contained the same message as the other letter.
The glitter bomb, which had been ordered from a website, was able to identify Frisiello.
Frisiello had also tried to send another 10 glitter bombs, including to other members of President Trump’s family, but the company declined the order after it decided the messages appeared threatening.
While Frisiello’s letters targeted both Republicans and Democrats, he’s been identified by the media as a far-left activist—belonging to a number of anti-Trump and anti-conservative Facebook pages. He also donated in 2016 to Democratic activist group Act Blue.
