Threat to bomb Democratic Party office in Athens, GA lands woman in prison

Also: Security Subcontractor Sentenced to Prison for Threatening to Bomb Local Democratic Campaign Office (U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Georgia)

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Source: Athens Banner-Herald

Threat to bomb Democratic Party office in Athens lands woman in prison

Wayne Ford, Athens Banner-Herald
Thu, August 3, 2023 at 10:17 AM EDT·2 min read

An Elberton woman was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison this week in U.S. District Court in Macon in connection with a bomb threat made in 2022 to the Athens-Clarke County Democratic Committee headquarters.

Jessica Diane Higginbotham, who also uses the last names of Harriod and Jones, had entered a guilty plea on May 16 to communicating a bomb threat.

U.S. Middle District Judge Tilman Self sentenced her this week. He also required her to serve two years on supervised release, according to release from the office of Middle District U.S. Attorney Peter Leary.

Higginbotham, 35, is a former security contractor, hired to provide security for the office in Athens.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/threat-bomb-democratic-party-office-141745829.html

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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Georgia

Security Subcontractor Sentenced to Prison for Threatening to Bomb Local Democratic Campaign Office

Wednesday, August 2, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Georgia

MACON, Ga. – A former security subcontractor working at the Athens-Clarke County Democratic Party coordinated campaign office was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison for sending a threatening message to bomb their local headquarters the day before the U.S. Senators from Georgia were in town for campaign events.

Jessica Diane Higginbotham aka Jessica Harriod aka Jessica Jones, 35, of Elberton, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III on July 31. Higginbotham pleaded guilty to one count of communicating a bomb threat on May 16. There is no parole in federal prison.

“Threats of violence intended to disturb the peace and disrupt the democratic process are taken seriously in the Middle District of Georgia and will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “I commend the many local and federal law enforcement agents whose collaboration in this case ensured a safe outcome for our community.”

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According to court documents, on Dec. 3, 2022, at 6:01 p.m., an employee of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in Athens received a text message: “Hello, I am writing this message to you to let you know that I am coming by either tonight or in the morning to set a bomb up. So I can blow all the Democrats up. I have other people going to other offices also. If I can’t stop you by breaking in and destroying the property then I will blow every one up. So be ready to be blown up. This is going to either happen tonight or in the morning. Hope you like being on the wrong team.”

The FBI began investigating the threat immediately, and officers with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) responded to the area of the threat. The U.S. Senate runoff election was scheduled to take place on Dec. 6, and elected officials were in Athens participating in campaign events, including both U.S. Senators from Georgia on Dec. 4. Using a series of emergency disclosure requests (EDRs), FBI agents discovered the cell phone belonged to the defendant, who was also working as a contract security officer for a firm employed by the local Democratic coordinated campaign. The U.S. Capitol Police were also investigating the bomb threat, and independently determined that the bomb threat was sent from Higginbotham’s cell phone.

On Dec. 4, FBI task force officers located Higginbotham at a coffee shop in Athens with the cell phone in her hands. ...

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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/security-subcontractor-sentenced-prison-threatening-bomb-local-democratic-campaign