(Kim Jarrett, The Center Square) A former employee with Voice of America is accused of threatening to harm U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., her staff and her family, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
Seth Jason, of Edgewater, Md., is charged with influencing a federal official by threatening a family member, influencing a federal official by threat, interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure, and anonymous telecommunications harassment.
The Justice Department accuses Jason of making eight threatening phone calls to Greene’s Rome and Dalton offices between Oct. 11, 2023, and Jan. 21, 2025. The U.S. Capitol Police traced some of those phone calls to studios and control rooms at Voice of America, according to a news release from the Justice Department.
The charges of influencing a federal official by threatening a family member and influencing a federal official by threat carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each if a person is convicted. The maximum penalty for interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure is five years and there is a two-year maximum for anonymous telecommunications harassment, according to the Justice Department.
It’s not the first time Greene has been the subject of threats. Rome police were called to her home in December 2024 after someone sent her an email saying there was a bomb in her mailbox. A 66-year-old woman was killed in a wreck with a bomb squad officer responding to Greene’s home.
“These violent political threats have fatal consequences. It’s an undue strain on our law enforcement who must treat them seriously,” Greene said in a social media post after the incident. “The officer was responding to protect my life. And now, a woman has lost her life because of this despicable act.”
A man pleaded guilty in July 2024 to making threats against Greene. Sean Patrick Cirillo was sentenced in November to time served for the five months he spent in federal custody and to three years of supervised release.
