A fireworks shop worker has been accused of trying to assassinate Barack Obama by sending him a package rigged with explosive powder.
Julia Poff, 46, was charged after her cat’s hair was found on the label on the former president’s parcel – which never made it past security.
She is also charged with sending a similar booby-trapped package to Texas governor Greg Abbott, who opened his but it failed to explode.
US Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy said Poff presents “a real safety risk to witnesses and others in the community”.
Poff is said to have expressed dislike for democrat Obama, who was president from 2009 to 2017.
The judge's detention order said Poff was upset with Abbott because she believed that in his previous role as state attorney general, he played a part in her inability to receive support from her ex-husband.
The packages contained pyrotechnic powder, and investigators found a large amount of fireworks at Poff's home in Brookshire, west of Houston, the court order said.
She is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Jan. 2.
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