Woman who sent threats to a Detroit-area election official in 2020 gets 30 days in jail

DETROIT (AP) — A New Hampshire woman was sentenced to 30 days in federal jail Tuesday for texting threats to a Detroit-area election official after a November 2020 meeting to certify local results in that year’s presidential race.

Katelyn Jones, 26, formerly of Olivet, Michigan, and now living in Epping, New Hampshire, targeted Monica Palmer, the Republican chairwoman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, and her family, the FBI said in a court filing.

Investigators say Jones sent photos of a dead body and threatened Palmer on Nov. 18, 2020, apparently because she was upset that Palmer and another Republican on the four-member Board of Canvassers initially refused to certify Wayne County’s election results on Nov. 17. The certification is typically a routine step on the way to statewide certification.

The two members subsequently certified the totals in favor of Joe Biden after people watching the public meeting on video conference criticized them during a comment period.

Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of threats of violence through interstate commerce.

Court filings in the case indicate she was coping with unspecified physical and mental health issues, The Detroit News reported.

The Associated Press left a telephone message seeking comment with Jones’ attorney.