A 21-year-old woman from Omaha appeared in federal court on Monday after being charged with threatening to assault a U.S. official. The charges stem from voicemails she allegedly left for a member of Congress.
According to a criminal complaint, Omaha Police Officer Jon Martin, who serves with the Great Plains Violent Crimes Task Force, was assigned to investigate two threatening voicemails left on February 24 around 7:45 p.m. The messages were provided to the U.S. Capitol Police, though the complaint did not specify which congressman was targeted.
Transcripts of the voicemails reveal that the caller expressed hatred toward the official and wished harm upon him. In one message, she allegedly said, “You have made this country [expletive], as has every single other senator that is representing us right now, and you know it. I hope the payout was worth the gunshot wound to your head that I’m gonna give you. Mwah.”
In a second voicemail, left two minutes later, the caller continued her outburst, admitting she was “so drunk.”
Officer Martin contacted the woman on February 27. She told authorities she did not recall making the calls but later found six calls to the White House in her phone’s call log. She reportedly informed police that she had been drinking heavily that night, consuming four to five glasses of wine, and had also run out of her prescription for Zoloft, which she takes for bipolar disorder.
Despite the allegations, Federal Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson denied a request from the U.S. Attorney’s Office to detain her, allowing her to remain free while the case proceeds.
Comments