A woman died this week in a car crash involving a Georgia officer who was responding to a bomb threat at the home of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to police and the congresswoman. Green said the threat turned out to be false. been targeted many times before By “swatting” attempts – where a person reports a false emergency to law enforcement in efforts to elicit an armed response to their target's residence.
Rome police spokeswoman Kelly Madden told CBS News that the crash happened Monday in Rome, Georgia, where Green lives, as the officer used his personal to join his department's bomb squad on a call at the congressman's home. Had driven the vehicle. A car drove out of a private lot and into the path of the officer, who hit the car's front left door despite hitting the brakes, the Georgia State Patrol said.
The other driver, Tammy Pickelsimer, 66, of Rome, died in the collision. According to state troopers, he died at a hospital.
Authorities did not identify the bomb squad officer by name. He was not seriously injured in the crash, Madden said.
Greene, a Republican who has represented Georgia in the U.S. House since 2021, addressed the fatal crash and the danger in a series of social media posts.
Green wrote, “I am heartbroken right now. I was just told that today an innocent woman was killed in an auto accident that also involved a member of the Rome Police Bomb Squad who was responding to a threat at my home. Was.” a post Monday night.
He added, “These violent political threats will have devastating consequences.” “This is an undue burden on our law enforcement, who must treat them seriously. The officer was responding to protect my life. And now, a woman has lost her life because of this despicable act.”
Congresswoman said in previous post On Monday, the assistant chief of the Rome Police Department “received an email in which he received a bomb threat”. Green shared surveillance video showing a bomb squad officer checking the mailbox outside her home.
She also shared screenshots of the alleged email, which had the subject line “For Palestine” and claimed that a homemade pipe bomb hidden in Green's mailbox would explode the next time someone opened it or over the weekend.
Madden confirmed that the Floyd County Bomb Squad was deployed to Green's address after the Rome Police Department received a bomb threat via email. Madden said officers were able to “dismiss any potential threat” to the legislator's residence.
According to Green, authorities apparently traced the emails to a Russian IP address. He said his office was working with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, to find and prosecute the perpetrator. CBS News contacted the FBI for more information but did not immediately receive a response.
Violent threats against MPs across the country seems to be increasingRecently, several Democratic U.S. Representatives from Connecticut reported receiving bomb threats Around Thanksgiving, President-elect Donald Trump's transition team announced several Cabinet and administration appointments shortly after. were the target of similar threats Also swatting.