Marjorie Taylor Greene Russian Pipe Bomb Hoax Kills Innocent Woman

A woman is dead after police in Georgia received an email from a Russian IP address claiming the sender had left a pipe bomb in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s mailbox.

A police officer with the bomb squad who was driving to meet his colleagues at headquarters hit another car, killing its driver, the Rome Police Department said in a press release.

“I’m heartsick right now,” Greene wrote in a post on X.

The department received an email Friday night with the subject “For Palestine” that said the sender had created a pipe bomb using “a 1x8-inch threaded galvanized pipe, end caps, a kitchen timer, some wires, metal clips and homemade black powder.”

“It is set to go off during the weekend but it would also explode the next time anybody opens the mailbox,” said the oddly specific threat, which Greene shared in a press release. “Even if Marjorie does not open the mailbox herself I’m still satisfied with the prospect of some pig cops losing their lives or being injured. VIVA VIVA PALESTINA.”

The message originally went to the department’s spam folder before it was discovered on Monday morning, police said. The email included a correct home address for the congresswoman, so the assistant police chief contacted Greene’s team. They confirmed the congresswoman wasn’t there and sent a bomb squad to check the mailbox, which was empty.

It was at least the ninth time Greene has been “swatted,” when fake emergency calls are made to provoke a large police response, the lawmaker said.

But the situation turned deadly when one of the officers responding to the threat got in an accident on his way to police headquarters.

Sgt. David Metroka, who is a member of the Floyd County bomb squad, was driving his personal truck, a GMC Sierra, when he hit a Mazda Protégé that was pulling out of a parking lot, Rome police said. The Mazda’s driver, 66-year-old Tammie Pickelsimer, was taken to the hospital, where she later died of her injuries.

Metroka suffered minor injuries and was later released from the hospital.

“These violent political threats have fatal consequences,” Greene wrote on X. “It’s an undue strain on our law enforcement who must treat them seriously.”

Greene said her prayers were with Pickelsimer’s family and the officer involved, and that her office is collaborating with local and federal law enforcement—including the FBI—to catch whoever sent the bomb threat.

A spokeswoman for the Rome Police Department confirmed the FBI had taken over the case after local police determined there wasn’t a threat at Greene’s home.

Greene “personally reached out to our Assistant Chief Rodney Bailey over night, expressing her devastation and condolences over the incident,” public information specialist Kelly Madden told The Daily Beast.

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the deadly crash, she added.

“The Rome Police Department extends its heartfelt condolences to the Pickelsimer family during this difficult time,” the department said in a statement. “The department holds the individual responsible for sending the threatening email fully accountable for setting this tragic chain of events into motion.”

Police acknowledged, however, that the pipe bomb threat “did not require an emergency response.”

“The Rome Police Department continues to work closely with Congresswoman Greene’s staff to address the growing concern of swatting incidents and has implemented protocols to ensure that emergency responses are only triggered when truly necessary,” the department’s statement said.