For the third time in recent weeks, a federal grand jury in Washington has declined to indict an individual accused of threatening an official, marking the latest indication of resistance from local residents in a city heavily influenced by federal law enforcement. This instance concerns Nathalie Rose Jones, a 49-year-old woman from New York, who was accused of making threats against President Donald Trump both online and directly to Secret Service agents.
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Court documents allege that Jones posted messages on social media in early August, calling Mr Trump a “terrorist” and his administration a “dictatorship.” Later, during a visit to Washington to attend a march, she reportedly told Secret Service agents in an interview that she regarded Mr Trump as a “Nazi” and said she would kill him to avenge lives lost during the pandemic if necessary. However, she also stated that she had no current intention of carrying out such an act. Letters submitted to the court by friends highlighted Jones’s history of mental health difficulties.
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Prosecutors, led by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, had sought to bring charges of making threats against the president and transmitting threats across state lines. Yet, the grand jury declined to issue an indictment, with Jones’s legal team emphasising that there was no probable cause. Such decisions are uncommon, as grand jurors generally hear only the prosecution’s evidence and usually return indictments. Nevertheless, this case forms part of a recent pattern in which juries in the capital have resisted bringing forward more serious charges.
