#Woman gets jail time for threatening letter to Sen. Susan Collins

A Maine woman who sent a threatening letter to Sen. Susan Collins after her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Suzanne Muscara, 38, was convicted last November of mailing what she said was a joke letter containing white powder and the word “anthrax” to the Maine lawmaker’s home.

The missive was intercepted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at a mail sorting facility in Hampden on Oct. 17, 2018, less than two weeks after Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The envelope contained a note with a stick figure drawing of the Maine Republican — with X’s for eyes and the tongue sticking out — along with the words “AnthRAX!!! HA HA HA!!!”

FBI tests showed that the white powder was harmless.

It was intercepted two days after Collins’ husband, Tom Daffron, had opened a letter claiming to contain ricin.

Muscara was identified by a fingerprint and arrested in April 2019.

Prosecutors said the Burlington woman was upset with Collins over one of her votes in the Senate.

Muscara told investigators she didn’t think her letter would be taken seriously. She has been jailed for two years already, time that counts toward her sentence.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker imposed the 30-month sentence on Muscara, who had faced up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank stressed that anthrax — a deadly substance — was no laughing matter.

“American politics is premised on free speech and vigorous debate,” Frank said. “True threats are not protected speech. They are a crime.”

In a statement, Collins said she and her husband were “grateful for the vigilance” of the postal inspectors, and “the extraordinary professionalism and effective investigative work of state and federal law enforcement officers.”

With Post wires