Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
An Indianapolis woman has been charged with two counts of influencing a federal official by threat, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Wednesday.
A plea agreement has been reached between defendant Shayla Addison, 28, and federal prosecutors, in which the government has agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, provided that Addison continues to fully accept responsibility for the offense, does not commit a new criminal offense before the date of any sentencing and does not otherwise violate the terms of any pre-trial release, according to the agreement.
According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2025, Addison sent several text messages to the campaign phone number of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, whose name has not been publicly released. In the texts, she threatened to kill the public official and told them to “tread lightly.”
Shortly after sending the texts, Addison sent messages to the official’s campaign email address, saying, “we will kill you” and “blow that whole building up.”
That same day, Addison took to social media, commenting on the official’s Instagram account with similar threats.
“By sending the messages, Addison intended to retaliate against Victim 1 on account of Victim 1’s performance of official duties,” the attorney’s office stated in the announcement.
The FBI and U.S. Capitol Police investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Olivier is prosecuting it in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.