Man who posted white powder to Donald Trump's sons sentenced to probation

A man who sent Donald Trump Jr and his wife Vanessa an envelope filled with white powder has been sentenced to five years' probation.

Daniel Frisiello, 25, of Beverly, Massachusetts, admitted to targeting Donald Trump’s son’s Eric and Donald Jr, in addition to other high-profile individuals from 2015 to 2018 by filling envelopes with a white powder.

Prosecutors noted the letter Frisiello sent to Donald Jr said: “You are an awful, awful person, I am surprised that your father lets you speak on TV.”

US authorities have been on alert for mail that contains white powder after a 2001 incident where envelopes laced with anthrax were sent to media outlets and US lawmakers, resulting in five deaths.

It was determined that the substance sent by Frisiello was harmless.

Other targets of Frisiello included US Senator Debbie Stabenow and actor Anthony Sabato Jr, as well as police chiefs and prosecutors managing and overseeing cases that Frisiello objected to.

He also sent one of the envelopes to a local company that had sacked a relative of his.

His lawyers sought five years' probation, stressing the need for leniency as Frisiello has developmental disabilities and autism, which they argued provided “context to understand the genesis of his crimes and to gauge the degree of his moral culpability.”