Elbert woman indicted by feds for threatening Democratic Party office in Athens

An Elbert County woman this week was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of threatening to bomb the Athens-Clarke County Democratic Committee Campaign headquarters in Athens, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Macon reported Thursday that 35-year-old Jessica Diane Higginbotham, also known as Jessica Harriod, was indicted on one count of communicating a bomb threat and one count of making a false statement.

The threat was made earlier this month, prosecutors said.

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Athens-Clarke police arrested Higginbotham on Dec. 4 and she has remained in jail since that day without bond.

The warrants charge she made the threat on Dec. 3 and that she lied to federal agents the next day about her knowledge of an e-mail address and her use of the TextNow communication application on her personal cellphone.

Police said she had worked in security for the office in Athens. Police have not commented on a motive for the alleged conduct.

If convicted, Higginbotham faces a sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Higginbotham is under investigation, but has not been linked to a burglary of the Democratic Party headquarters on Sunset Drive that occurred in late November, according to police Lt. Shaun Barnett.

During the burglary, the office was vandalized and a laptop was stolen, according to police.

Responding officers found the doors were locked when an employee arrived and there were no signs of a forced entry. No charges have been made in the case.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Feds indict Elbert woman for threat to bomb Democratic Party office