A woman was charged with making a threat of violence against a Republican election official in Michigan, federal authorities announced Wednesday.
Katelyn Jones, 23, allegedly sent threatening photos and messages to Monica Palmer of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, the FBI wrote in a court filing cited by the Associated Press (AP). Jones reportedly sent Palmer graphic photographs of a dead woman’s naked, bloody body and threatened the safety of Palmer’s family.
“I’d [sic] be a shame if something happened to your daughter at school,” Jones reportedly said, according to the AP.
WOMAN ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH MAKING THREATS AGAINST CHAIR OF WAYNE COUNTY BOARD OF CANVASERS https://t.co/cXlUBQeydR
— U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider (@USAO_MIE) December 23, 2020
Palmer chaired a Board of Canvassers meeting Nov. 17 where she and the other Republican members initially refused to certify Wayne County’s election results because they believed there were issues with absentee ballots in Detroit, according to the AP. After hours of criticism during the public comment section of the meeting, Palmer and the other Republicans decided to certify the election results.
Jones confessed to making the threats against Palmer when she was questioned by FBI agents, according to the AP. Jones reportedly said she made the threats because she thought Palmer was “interfering with the election.” (RELATED: LA Man Taken Into Custody After Posting Video Threatening Violence If Biden Won The Election)
“The allegations in this case should make all of us disgusted,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider in a Department of Justice press release. “There is simply no place in Michigan, or in the United States, for chilling threats like this to people who are simply doing what they believe is correct.”
Officials in multiple states have allegedly received violent threats related to the 2020 election results. “Credible threats of violence” closed the Michigan state Capitol earlier this month, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has reported receiving death threats.