A New Hampshire woman was charged Wednesday with sending threatening texts, including photos of a mutilated female body, to a Republican election official in the Detroit area who refused to certify the results from the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Katelyn Jones, 23, of Epping, New Hampshire, was charged in a Detroit federal court and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say Ms. Jones repeatedly threatened Monica Palmer, the chairwoman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, who made headlines in November when she refused to sign off on results showing a win for President-elect Joseph R. Biden in the crucial county in the battleground state.
Ms. Jones texted Ms. Palmer two graphic photos of a bloody, deceased, nude mutilated woman lying on the ground, according to court documents. Those two photos were followed by a third photo of Ms. Palmer’s minor daughter.
“I’d just like you to imagine that’s … your beautiful daughter,” Ms. Jones said of the texts, according to a criminal complaint.
Ms. Palmer and the other Republican member of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers held up certification of the vote, citing unbalanced ballot totals from the polls. Under intense public pressure, they relented and certified the results.
They later attempted to unsuccessfully rescind their votes and decertify the results.
“The allegations in this case should make all of us disgusted,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement. “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.”
Other texts allegedly sent by Ms. Jones, called Ms. Palmer, a “disgusting racist b—-h,” and “a terrorist.”
“I don’t tolerate people like you, in fact, I consider you to be a terrorist and do you know what happens to terrorists, [Monica]??” Ms. Jones allegedly texted.
Ms. Jones sent at least 10 threatening texts to Ms. Palmer, according to court documents. The threats began Nov. 18, the day after Ms. Palmer refused to certify the election.
Ms. Jones is also accused of posting Ms. Palmer’s phone number, address and her husband’s phone number on Instagram.
Wayne County, where Detroit is located, is Michigan’s largest county with 878,000 votes.
FBI officials traced the phone number to a Text Me Inc. app account created 10 minutes before Ms. Palmer received the first threatening message, according to court records.
Ms. Jones was arrested Tuesday at the home of her mother in New Hampshire. She admitted creating the TextMe account and using it to send the threatening texts, according to an affidavit.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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