Girl dies in crash with officer responding to bomb risk at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s house, lawmaker says

A girl died this week in a automobile crash involving a Georgia officer, who on the time was responding to a bomb risk at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s house, based on police and the congresswoman. The risk turned out to be a hoax, mentioned Inexperienced, who mentioned she has been focused a number of instances earlier than by “swatting” makes an attempt — the place somebody flags a false emergency to regulation enforcement in efforts to attract an armed response to their goal’s residence.

The wreck occurred Monday in Rome, Georgia, the place Greene lives, because the officer drove his private automobile to hitch his division’s bomb squad on a name, Rome Police mentioned in an announcement. A automobile pulled out in entrance of the officer on his route, inflicting the accident, CBS affiliate WANF reported, citing Georgia State Patrol. The opposite driver, 66-year-old Tammie Pickelsimer, was killed within the collision, state troopers instructed the information station. 

Authorities haven’t recognized the bomb squad officer by title, and it was unclear whether or not he sustained accidents within the crash.

Greene, a Republican who has represented Georgia within the U.S. Home since 2021, mentioned the officer was responding to a risk at her house when the accident came about.

“I am heartsick proper now. I used to be simply knowledgeable that an harmless lady died right now in an auto accident involving a member of the Rome Police bomb squad who was responding to the risk at my house,” Greene wrote in a social media put up Monday night time. 

“These violent political threats have deadly penalties,” she continued. “It is an undue pressure on our regulation enforcement who should deal with them critically. The officer was responding to guard my life. And now, a girl has misplaced her life due to this despicable act.”

The congresswoman mentioned in an earlier put up Monday that the assistant chief of the Rome Police Division had “obtained an e mail containing a bomb risk directed in the direction of” her. Greene shared surveillance video showing to indicate a bomb squad officer inspecting the mailbox outdoors of her house.

She additionally shared screenshots of the alleged e mail, which contained the topic line “For Palestine” and claimed a home made pipe bomb hidden in Greene’s mailbox would explode the subsequent time somebody opened it or over the weekend. 

Authorities have apparently traced the e-mail to a Russian IP handle, based on Greene. She mentioned her workplace was working with native and federal regulation enforcement, together with the FBI, to seek out and prosecute the perpetrator. 

CBS Information contacted the Rome Police Division, the Georgia Division of Public Security and the FBI for extra data however didn’t obtain fast replies.

Violent threats in opposition to lawmakers throughout the nation look like on the rise. Just lately, a number of Democratic U.S. representatives from Connecticut reported receiving bomb threats round Thanksgiving, shortly after President-elect Donald Trump’s transition crew mentioned a number of Cupboard and administration picks have been targets of comparable threats in addition to swatting.