- A Georgia woman pled guilty to threatening to bomb a local Democratic party building.
- Jessica Higginbotham planned to bomb the Athens Democratic Senatorial Committee Campaign building during the 2022 elections.
A woman who worked as a security contractor for the Democratic Senatorial Committee Campaign (DSCC) pleaded guilty to making a bomb threat at the campaign's Athens-Clarke County headquarters and vomited when the FBI confronted her about it at a coffee shop.
According to the Department of Justice, former DSCC contractor Jessica Diane Higginbotham laid out a plan to bomb the Athens-Clarke County DSCC building in early December 2022, as election campaigns were underway, while candidates made use of the building. On Tuesday, Higginbotham pleaded guilty to one count of communicating a bomb threat.
She has admitted that she "used a cell phone to willfully threaten to kill or injure people and unlawfully destroy a building with an explosive," per the DOJ.
Higginbotham's plea comes as violent attacks on political offices intensify across the country. On Monday morning, a man with a metal baseball bat attacked staffers at the Virginia office of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, police and the congressman said, per the Associated Press. The suspect's motivation is not known.
In October 2022, the 82-year-old husband of Democratic congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was brutally assaulted by a man who later told police he wanted to make Nancy Pelosi pay for Democrats' "persecution" of former President Donald Trump and his campaign.
It's unclear what motivated Higginbotham to make the threat, but in a text message sent December 3, Higginbotham warned an employee that they were on "the wrong team," and to brace for explosions.
Prosecutors said that as Georgia's senate run-off was due to kick off on December 6, and with US senators visiting the DSCC building on December 4, Higginbotham let a DSCC staff member know her intentions in a December 3 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," Higginbotham said in the message, according to federal prosecutors. "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."
Local police and the FBI sprung into action after being alerted about the text, prosecutors said. After tracking down Higginbotham's phone, they located her in an Athens coffee shop the following morning.
"When she saw the agents approach her, she vomited," prosecutors said in a press release, adding that she first denied sending the message, but later admitted to it.
The charge carries a sentence of up to five years. Higginbotham's attorney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.