Woman pleads guilty to threatening Michigan 2020 election official

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN

A New Hampshire woman pleaded guilty Thursday to sending a series of threatening texts to a Michigan election official in the wake of the 2020 election, according to the Justice Department.

Katelyn Jones, 25, made multiple threats to the chair of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers in November 2020, according to court documents. The board oversees elections in Wayne County, Michigan, which became a focus of some conspiracy theories after the presidential election.

Jones faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced in July, according to a news release from the department

In one series of text messages, Jones told the election official that they had made a “grave mistake” and sent graphic pictures of a dead body and pictures of the official’s child, according to court documents. Among several other messages, Jones also told the official that “Fucking with our elections is TERRORISM, and us Americans clearly don’t tolerate terrorist[s] so yes you should be afraid, your daughter should be afraid, and so should [your husband].”

Jones also threatened the election official and their family on Instagram, court documents say. Under one photograph of the family, for example, Jones allegedly commented: “Your Daughter is beautiful” and that it would “be a shame if something happened to her.”

After she was arrested, Jones allegedly told investigators that she threatened the official because she was angry that they were interfering with the election.

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