Cochran Man Sentenced For Threatening Calls to Senators

BLECKLEY COUNTY, Georgia – (WMGT/41NBC) – A Cochran man is sentenced to 30 months in prison for two counts of anonymous telecommunications harassment involving the offices of U.S. Senators.

In a plea agreement, 41-year-old Jason Kenneth Bell admitted he called the office of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on March 1, 2017. And he left several messages after first speaking with an intern.

Bell further admitted that on October 23,2017, he called the office of U.S. Senator Timothy Scott and, without identifying himself. Bell stated that he was going to kill Senator Scott.

During that call, Mr. Bell referred to the self-declared white supremacist convicted of murdering nine African-American worshipers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015.

“Bell’s repeated threatening, abusive, and harassing phone calls landed him a deserving place in federal prison,” said United States Attorney Charles E. Peeler. “Everyone has
the right to express their views, no matter how distasteful, under the First Amendment, but no one has the right to threaten, abuse, or harass those they disagree with. When civil discourse crosses the line to criminal activity, my office will vigorously prosecute those who violate the law.”