A Maryland man has been arrested and charged with threatening Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, and members of her family and staff, federal prosecutors announced on July 17.
Seth Jason, 64, of Edgewater, Maryland, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police and the Anne Arundel Police Department, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia. Court records show that Jason has been 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.
He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on July 17.
From Oct. 11, 2023, to Jan. 21, 2025, Jason made threatening calls to Greene’s district offices, prosecutors said. The release said Jason was an employee at Voice of America and that the phone calls were made from “phone lines connected to studios and control rooms at Voice of America headquarters.”
“In eight calls made over fifteen months, Jason threatened the use of firearms to kill Rep. Greene, her staff, and their families,” federal prosecutors said.
USA TODAY reached out to Voice of America and did not receive a comment as of July 17. The Anne Arundel Police Department said in a statement that Jason was an unarmed volunteer reserve officer but is no longer affiliated with the department.
“For 15 months, I received terrifying death threats from one individual who worked alarmingly close to my office building at the Voice of America,” Greene said in a statement to USA TODAY. “That kind of sustained, targeted harassment is deeply disturbing. Threatening an elected official, their family, or their staff is not free speech; it’s a crime, and it must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The arrest comes after lawmakers have clamored for more security funding and around-the-clock safety measures after the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband in June. Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at a Thursday news conference that the calls threatened Greene’s family, staff, as well as the staff member’s families, pointing to one call where Jason allegedly threatened to kill Greene at a book signing.
“You threaten a public official, and you face the full force of the law crushing down on you,” Pirro said. “There will be no mercy and no excuses.”
Jason faces up to 27 years in prison if convicted on all charges. A lawyer listed in court records for Jason was unavailable for comment.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene: Maryland man charged with threatening lawmaker
