Tennessee woman charged with threatening to kill Sen Marsha Blackburn

A 22-year-old woman has been charged with allegedly threatening to murder Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn. Penelope Convertino allegedly left death threats on a voicemail at Blackburn’s Nashville Senate office on May 30. A staffer listened to the message, which included explicit threats.

“My name is motherf*ker and I’m gonna kill Marsha Blackburn,” the voicemail stated. “I’m gonna shoot her with a gun. I’m gonna blow up her head on national TV. She will literally have brains splattered behind her because she will not be a person. She will be a dead f*cking body.”

On Thursday, FBI agents arrested Convertino. She was charged by criminal complaint with making a threat to murder a federal official with the intent to impede, intimidate, and interfere. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Our public officials should be able to do their jobs without receiving vile death threats,” Acting US Attorney Robert E. McGuire said. “Threatening public officials with deadly violence cannot and will not be tolerated. We will not hesitate to hold those who make these kinds of violent threats accountable for their crimes.”

Blackburn, who has served in the Senate since 2018, announced earlier this month that she is running for governor of Tennessee.

Blackburn issued a statement to The Daily Caller following the suspect's arrest, saying, “Threats against the life of any public official are unacceptable and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

“I am grateful to law enforcement and federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee for taking this threat seriously and for their swift action. My focus remains on serving the people of Tennessee, and I will not be intimidated or deterred by those who seek to silence me,” she added.