A woman was arrested in New Hampshire for making threats – and sending photos of a naked and mutilated body to – a Michigan election official who initially refused to certify local votes in favor of Joe Biden, officials said.
Katelyn Jones, a 23-year-old former Olivet, Michigan resident, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with sending threats and “threatening communications” to Wayne Palmer of the Wayne County Colporteur Council, officials said in a statement. to the press on the same day.
“We Americans clearly do not tolerate terrorists (sic), so yes, you must be afraid, your daughter must be afraid.”
The young woman sent Palmer, chairman of the council, threats and horrific images from her mother’s home in Epping, NH, where she was staying and was later arrested, officials said.
“The allegations in this case should make us all disgusted,” said Attorney General Matthew Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan. “There is simply no place in Michigan or the United States for threats like this to people who are simply doing what they believe is right. … This is not the only case of an election-related threat that we are investigating.”
Palmer led a raucous meeting of the Canvassers’ Council on November 17. She and a Republican colleague on the four-member council initially refused to certify the results of the Wayne County election, usually a routine step on the road to certification across the state. They cited problems with absentee votes in Detroit.
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When the meeting became public comment, Palmer and William Hartmann were criticized for hours by people watching on videoconference. They later changed their votes and certified the election totals, saying that the two Democrats on the council ensured that a post-election audit would be carried out. Biden won the county on November 3, with 68% of the vote.
In this archival photo of November 20, 2020, Republican President of Wayne County Colporteurs Council, Monica Palmer, addresses the media in Farmington Hills, Michigan (AP Photo / Carlos Osorio)
((AP Photo / Carlos Osorio))
“You made a serious mistake. I hope you understand now,” Jones told Palmer the day after the meeting, according to the FBI.
The threats included two photos of the body of a naked, mutilated and bloody woman lying on the floor. She also allegedly sent Palmer a photo of Palmer’s young daughter and made references to her in the threatening messages, officials said.
Along with a picture of the naked corpse, she wrote: “I just wish you could imagine that it is little [Palmer’s daughter’s name] your beautiful daughter, “according to the court case, which was shared online by The Detroit News.
Jones allegedly called Palmer a racist and terrorist in the messages, which were sent over the phone and on social media.
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“F —— with our elections it is TERRORISM, and we Americans clearly do not tolerate terrorists (sic), so yes, you must be afraid, your daughter must be afraid and also must [Palmer’s husband’s name], “Jones allegedly wrote.
“I (sic) would be a shame if something happened to your daughter at school,” said Jones, according to investigators.
Jones admitted to agents on Tuesday that she made threats because she felt Palmer was “interfering with the election,” the FBI said in a lawsuit.
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Jones’ lawyer declined to comment when he was contacted by reporters on Wednesday. She appeared in federal court in Concord, NH, where she was released on bail, according to The Detroit News. She is due to go to court in Detroit on January 13 and is expected to participate in a mental health program.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.